KEY FACTS
Joined Commonwealth: 1972
Population: 154,695,000 (2012)
GDP p.c. growth: 3.7% p.a. 1990–2012
UN HDI 2012: world ranking 146
Official language: Bangla
Time: GMT plus 6hr
Currency: Taka (Tk)
Geography
Area: 143,998 sq km
Coastline: 580 km
Capital: Dhaka
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is a fertile and densely populated delta country in southern Asia bordered by the Bay of Bengal, India and Myanmar (formerly Burma).
Main towns:
Dhaka (capital, pop. 10.86m in 2010), Chittagong (3.87m), Narayanganj (1.49m), Khulna (1.44m), Rajshahi (808,400), Tungi (437,400), Sylhet (410,200), Mymensingh (395,100), Narsingdi (361,600), Comilla (344,800), Rangpur (330,000), Barisal (270,900), Jessore (260,800), Bogra (260,200), Dinajpur (182,700), Pabna (182,600), Nawabganj (177,800) and Brahman Baria (157,900).
Society
KEY FACTS 2012
Population per sq km: 1,074
Life expectancy: 70 years
Net primary enrolment: 92% (2010)
Population:
154,695,000 (2012); density among world’s highest; 29 per cent of people live in urban areas and 14 per cent in urban agglomerations of more than one million people; growth 1.7 per cent p.a. 1990–2012; birth rate 20 per 1,000 people (47 in 1970), controlled by vigorous family planning schemes; life expectancy 70 years (44 in 1970).
Language:
Bangla (Bengali) is the official language. English is widely spoken, especially in government and commerce.
Education:
Public spending on education was two per cent of GDP in 2008. There are five years of compulsory primary education and eight years of free education, starting at the age of six. Almost all primary schools are government-managed. Secondary schools comprise a first cycle of three years and a second cycle of four years. Some 66 per cent of pupils complete primary school (2009). The school year starts in January. A parallel system of education – madrassa education – offers Islamic instruction from primary level up to postgraduate level. The main public universities are the University of Dhaka (established in 1921); University of Rajshahi (1954); Bangladesh Agricultural University (1961, located in Mymensingh); University of Chittagong (1966); and University of Jahangirnagar (1970, in Savar, Dhaka). There are also several private universities in Dhaka, including North–South University and Independent University. The Bangladesh Open University provides distance learning for a wide range of students at secondary and tertiary levels. The female–male ratio for gross enrolment in tertiary education is 0.70:1 (2011). Literacy among people aged 15–24 is 77 per cent (2010).
