Source: MAPS IN MINUTES™ © RH Publications (1997)

A tropical low-lying country of the Indian subcontinent.

Physical

Situated at the head of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is mainly occupied by the deltas of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. It is a land of rivers, which flood regularly in the monsoon season, leaving fertile soil on their banks. The south-west delta area, the Sundarbans, is mainly swamp and jungle; the region is subject to frequent cyclones which are funnelled up the Bay of Bengal and exacerbated by large-scale deforestation, thus causing immense damage and loss of life and crops. Some of the worst floods in the country’s history left 25 million people homeless in 1998.

Economy

The country remains one of the world’s poorest, despite rapid economic growth in the 2000s. The clothing industry has grown rapidly in recent years and it is now the second-largest clothes exporter after China. Around 9 million Bangladeshis work abroad and their remittances provide 10% of GDP. The country grows most of the world’s supply of jute, and jute products are an important, though declining, export. Other exports include shrimp, tea,and leather goods. Industry is limited and the main source of employment is agriculture, with rice the most important food crop. There are substantial reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas.

History

Bangladesh was established in 1971 from territories which had previously formed the eastern part of Pakistan. Evidence of discontent in East Pakistan first appeared in the 1952 Bengali-language agitation and became much stronger after the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. In 1966 the Awami League put forward a demand for greater autonomy which it proposed to implement after its victory in the 1970 elections. In March 1971, when this demand was rejected by the military government of Pakistan, civil war began, leading to a massive exodus of refugees to India. India sent help to the East Pakistan guerrillas (the Mukti Bahini). In the war of December 1971, Indian troops defeated the Pakistan forces in East Pakistan. The independence of Bangladesh was proclaimed in 1971 and recognized by Pakistan in 1974. The first Prime Minister, Mujibur Rahman, was murdered in 1975 and a period of political chaos, ethnic riots, floods, and famine followed, Bangladesh being declared the world’s poorest country in 1987. In 1990 the military leader President Ershad was forced to resign, was arrested, and imprisoned for corruption. Elections in 1991 restored civilian rule under Prime Minister Begum Zia and a new constitution was adopted. From 1995 Zia’s government was troubled by strikes and mass protests against privatization and other policies. Following two elections in June 1996 Sheikha Hasina Wajed became the head of a coalition government, but Zia was returned to power in 2001. In both 1998 and 2004 severe floods affected over half of the country and left many millions of people homeless. Zia resigned in 2006, but elections were postponed amid unrest and a caretaker government ruled Bangladesh with military support until 2009. Hasina won elections in December 2008 and became Prime Minister in January; she was re-elected in January 2014, a contest boycotted by Zia. Bangladesh has seen a growing threat from Islamist extremists, whose attacks since 2015 have included the murder of atheist and secular writers, bloggers, and publishers as well as of Christians and Hindus.