General information
Official name: People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Father of the Nation: Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
President: Mr. Mohammed Shahabuddin
Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
Capital of Bangladesh: Dhaka
Region: Southwest Region of South Asia
Territory: 147,570 km²
Population: 169.8 million people
Official language: Bangla
Independence Day: March 26, 1971
Administrative divisions: 8 Divisions, 64 Districts and 495 Upazilas, 4577 Unions
Municipalities: 330
Currency: Bengali Taka
Time Zone: GMT +6 hours
Life expectancy at birth: 72.4 years
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): US$355.62 billion
GDP Per Capita (2022-2023): US$ 2,657.006
Bangladesh, officially the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, is an Asian country,
surrounded almost entirely by India, except to the southeast, where it has a small land
border with Myanmar, and to the south, where it has a coastline on the Bay of Bengal.
The country is listed among the economies of the “Next Eleven” group. Many of Bangladesh’s physical and cultural aspects are shared with West Bengal, a
neighboring state in India. In fact, Bangladesh and West Bengal form a region of Asia
known as Bengal. The current name Bangladesh means “Bengali nation” or “nation of
Bengal”. There is an abundance of plant life in the region’s hot, humid climate. Most of
the country is made up of low plains, fertilized by the flooding of the rivers and streams
that cross them. Rivers, during the flood season, deposit fertile soil along their banks.
But many of these floods also wreak havoc in rural villages.
The region has long been characterized by great poverty. Most of the inhabitants are
poor farmers, who struggle to make a living from small plots of land. Many city workers
earn only a few cents a day. About 52.1% of the population over 15 years old cannot
read or write. Today, although Bangladesh continues to face many challenges,
including the adverse effects of climate change, poverty, illiteracy, corruption, etc., the
country is one of the emerging economies and growth leaders of the world. Once a
historic center of the muslin fabric trade, Bangladesh is now one of the largest
exporters of modern clothing in the world. Bangladesh’s economy is the 39th largest in
the world by nominal GDP. Bangladesh’s percentage of urban population is lower than
that of most South Asian nations. Only about 18% of the population lives in cities.
Despite this, Dhaka, the capital and largest city in the country, is considered one of the
largest cities in the world (in terms of population), with more than seven million
inhabitants residing within its boundaries and more than five million in the peripheral
towns and villages.
