: 26.1% (1995 est.)
@Bangladesh:Government
Country name: conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former : East Pakistan
Data code: BG
Government type: republic
National capital: Dhaka
Administrative divisions: 4 divisions; Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi note: there may be two new divisions named Barisal and Sylhet
Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan)
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971)
Constitution: 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Shahabuddin AHMED (since 9 October 1996); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina WAJED (since 23 June 1996) cabinet : Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1996 (next to be held by NA October 2001); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results : Shahabuddin AHMED elected president without opposition; percent of National Parliament vote - NA
Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300 elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies, 30 seats reserved for women; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 12 June 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 33.87%, BNP 30.87%; seats by party - AL 178, BNP 113, JP 33, JI 3, other 2, election still to be held 1; note - the elections of 12 June 1996 brought to power an Awami League government for the first time in twenty-one years; held under a neutral, caretaker administration, the elections were characterized by a peaceful, orderly process and massive voter turnout, ending a bitter two-year impasse between the former BNP and opposition parties that had paralyzed National Parliament and led to widespread street violence
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, the Chief Justices and other judges are appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP),
Khaleda ZIAur RAHMAN; Awami League (AL), Sheikh Hasina WAJED; Jatiyo
Party (JP), Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD; Jamaat-E-Islami (JI), Motiur
Rahman NIZAMI; Bangladesh Communist Party (BCP), Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK
International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP,
UNTAES, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Khwaja Mohammad SHEHABUDDIN chancery: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone : [1] (202) 342–8372 through 8376 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David N. MERRILL embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address : G.P.O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 884700 through 884722 FAX: [880] (2) 883–744
Flag description: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; green is the traditional color of Islam
Economy
Economy - overview: Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. Annual GDP growth has averaged over 4% in recent years from a low base. Its economy is largely agricultural, with the cultivation of rice the single most important activity in the economy. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), inadequate power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Frequent strikes that crippled the economy in 1995 and early 1996 subsided after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina WAJED's Awami League government assumed power in mid-1996, allowing a return to normal economic activity. The current government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets; for example, it has negotiated with foreign firms for oil and gas exploration, better countrywide distribution of cooking gas, and the construction of natural gas pipelines and power plants. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $155.1 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.7% (1996)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,260 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 31% industry: 18% services: 51% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 4% (FY95/96)
Labor force: total: 50.1 million by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 21%, industry and mining 14% (1989) note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman (1991)
Unemployment rate: 35.9% (1996)
Budget: revenues : $4.1 billion expenditures: $6 billion, including capital expenditures of $3 billion (FY95/96 est.)
Industries: jute manufacturing, cotton textiles, food processing, steel, fertilizer
Industrial production growth rate: 5.7% (1996 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 2.98 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 10.01 billion kWh (1994)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 76 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes; beef, milk, poultry
Exports: total value: $3.9 billion (FY95/96 est.) commodities : garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood partners: Western Europe 42%, US 30%, Hong Kong 4%, Japan 3% (FY95/96 est.)
Imports: total value: $6.8 billion (FY95/96 est.) commodities: capital goods, textiles, food, petroleum products partners: India 21%, China 10%, Western Europe 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 6% (FY95/96 est.)
Debt
