Bangladesh

Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India

Area: 144000 sq km

Coastline: 580 km

Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 12 nm, contiguous zone: 18 nm, exclusive economic zone: 200 nm, continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin

Environment – Current issues: many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation

Population: 144319628 (July 2005 est.)

Age Structure: 0-14 years: 33.1%, (male 24,590,207/ female 23,162,420), 15-64 years: 63.5% (male 46,764,824/ female 44,868,733), 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 2,650,683/ female 2,282,761) (2005 est.)