BANGLADESH at a glance

OFFICIAL NAME :                   People’s Republic of Bangladesh

FATHER OF THE NATION :      Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

HEAD OF THE STATE :           Hon’ble President Mr. Md. Abdul Hamid

HEAD OF GOVERNMENT :      Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Bangladesh is situated in the eastern part of the South Asian sub-continent. It lies between latitudes 20°34´ and 26°38´ North, and longitudes 88°01´ and 92°41´ East. The Country is bordered by India on the west, north and east, having a small border strip with Myanmar in the south-east and by the Bay of Bengal on the south.

AREA : 1,47,570 sq kms (56,977 sq miles) | (land: 133,910 sq km, water: 10,090 sq km)

CAPITAL: Dhaka

NATIONALITY: Bangalees as a nation and Bangladeshi as citizen

RELIGION

• Muslims – 86.6%,
• Hindus – 12.1%,
• Buddhists – 0.6%,
• Christians -0.4%,
• Others -0.3%.

LANGUAGE

• Bangla (national language) spoken by 95%
• English is widely understood and spoken.

CURRENCY : Taka; Tk (BDT, Symbol = ৳). (US$ 1= 83.84 Approx.)

STANDARD TIME : BST (GMT +6 Hours)

DIVISIONS : 8 (Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet, Rangpur, Mymensingh)

POPULATION : 167,395,547 crores (2019 Estimated) | Bangladesh ranks number 8 in the list of countries by population

ETHNIC GROUPS

• Bengalis (98%)
• Other small ethnic groups (2%) including Chakma, Marma, Santal, Garo, Manipuri, Tripura, and Tanchangya.

LITERACY RATE : 72.89% (2017)

WEEKENDS : Friday & Saturday, some govt and non-govt offices remain open on Saturdays

INDEPENDENCE & NATIONAL DAY : 26th March

VICTORY DAY : 16th December

MARTYRS’ DAY : 21st February (Also recognized as the International Mother Language Day)

INTERNATIONAL DIALING CODE : +880

TRANSPORTATION METHODS : Road, Air, Rail, Waterways

(Bangladesh Embassy in Hanoi )