World  > Indian Subcontinent  > Bangladesh
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General Information Area: 147,570 sq km (56,977 sq miles). Population: 131,269,860 (official estimate 2001). Population Density: 889.5 per sq km. Capital: Dhaka. Population: 3,612,850 (1991). GEOGRAPHY: The People’s Republic of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, is bounded to the west and northwest by West Bengal (India), to the north by Assam and Meghalaya (India), to the east by Assam and Tripura (India) and by Myanmar (Burma) to the southeast. The landscape is mainly flat with many bamboo, mango and palm-covered plains. A large part of Bangladesh is made up of alluvial plain, caused by the effects of the two great river systems of the Ganges (Padma) and the Brahmaputra (Jamuna) and their innumerable tributaries. In the northeast and east of the country the landscape rises to form forested hills. To the southeast, along the Burmese and Indian borders, the land is hilly and wooded. About one-seventh of the country’s area is under water and flooding occurs regularly. Government: Republic. Gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. Head of State: President Iajuddin Ahmed since 2002. Head of Government: Prime Minister Khaleda Zia since 2001. Language: The official language is Bengali (Bangla). English is widely spoken especially in government and commercial circles. Religion: Eighty-eight per cent Muslim, ten per cent Hindus and two per cent Buddhist and Christian minorities. Religion is the main influence on attitudes and behaviour. Since 1988, Islam has been the official state religion. Time: GMT + 6. Electricity: 220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs are of the British five- and 15-amp, two- or three-pin (round) type. Telephone Limited IDD available. Country code: 880. Outgoing international code: 00. Public telephone booths are located at the principal marketplaces and in post offices in the main towns. Mobile telephone GSM 900. Main network operators include Grameen Phone (website: www.grameenphone.com), Aktel (website: www.aktel.com) and Mobile 2000. Coverage is limited to main towns. Fax There are facilities at major hotels in Dhaka and services are now widely available in all large towns. Internet Public Internet services exist in the main towns and there are also a few Internet cafes. Hotels in Dhaka and Chittagong offer Internet access (mainly to guests). Main ISPs include BanglaNet (website: www.bangla.net) and Proshikanet (website: www.proshikanet.com). Telegram Telegrams may be sent from main post offices and there are three charge rates. Post Airmail takes three to four days to Europe; surface mail can take several months. Post boxes are blue for airmail and red for surface mail. Press There are eight daily English-language papers, the most popular being the Bangladesh Observer, followed by the Daily Star, the Independent, the Financial Express and the New Nation. The main English-language weeklies are Holiday, the Dhaka Courier and the Bangladesh Gazette. The main Bengali dailies are Janakantha, Ittefaq, Prothan Alo and Sangbad. Almost all these newspapers are published in Dhaka and circulated throughout the country. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 15.31 11.96 6.195 1.413 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 17.74 11.71 9.645 6.110 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.