About Bangladesh

About Bangladesh

Edited By Mustafizur Rahman Jerry, Dhaka

Bangladesh(lies between latitudes 20°and 27°N, and longitudes 88° and 93°E) officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides, Myanmar on the southeast and the Bay of Bengal (Bongo-upo-sagar in Bengali) to its south. The Language of this country is Bengali. Bangladesh is the world's eight most populous country. Large population is one of the greatest problems of Bangladesh. Its area is 1,47,570 sq km and population is over 16 crore. Bangladesh is divided into seven administrative divisions, each named after their respective divisional headquarters: Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Rangpur.

Divisions are subdivided into districts (zila). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh, each further subdivided into upazila (subdistricts) or thana. The area within each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions, with each union consisting of multiple villages. In the metropolitan areas, police stations are divided into wards, which are further divided into mahallas. There are no elected officials at the divisional or district levels, and the administration is composed only of government officials. Direct elections are held for each union (or ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats (out of 12) in every union for female candidates.
Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The cities with City Corporation are: Dhaka South, Dhaka North, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal, Rangpur, Comilla, Narayanganj and Gazipur. These cities have mayoral elections. Other major cities include Mymensingh, Gopalganj, Jessore, Bogra, Dinajpur, Saidapur and Rangmati. These cities and other municipalities elect a chairperson. Mayors and chairpersons are elected for a span of five years.
According to FAOSTAT, Bangladesh is one of world's largest producers of: rice (4th), potato (11th), mango (9th), pineapple (16th), tropical Fruit (5th), onion (16th), banana (17th), jute (2nd), tea (11th). [Numbers are indicating Position in World]
The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam (89.4%), but a significant percentage of the population adheres to Hinduism (9.6%).The majority of Muslims are Sunni, although a small number are Twelver Shias or Ismaili Shias. Bangladesh has the fourth largest Muslim population after Indonesia, Pakistan, and India, with over 135 million. Eid-ul-fitr is the largest festival of Bangladesh.