(2004)
Pipelines:
gas 2,012 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Chittagong, Mongla Port
Merchant marine:
total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 319,897 GRT/440,575 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 28, container 6, passenger/cargo 1,
petroleum tanker 4
foreign-owned: 10 (China 1, Singapore 9)
registered in other countries: 14 (2005)
Airports:
16 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Bangladesh
Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18–49: 35,170,019 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18–49: 26,841,255 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$995.3 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.8% (2004)
Transnational Issues Bangladesh
Disputes - international:
discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of
river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries,
allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade,
migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous
border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off
high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint
Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are
missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha
Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation;
Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 61,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2004)
Illicit drugs:
transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
======================================================================
@Barbados
Introduction Barbados
Background:
The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in
1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island
until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily
dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the
20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political
reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the
UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the
sugar industry in economic importance.
Geography Barbados
Location:
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of
Venezuela
Geographic coordinates:
13 10 N, 59 32 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
97 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
tropical; rainy season (June to October)
Terrain:
relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, fish, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 37.21% permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2001)
Irrigated land:
10 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides
Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
