Fun Easy English - Travel abroad Bangladesh.

OFFICIAL NAME: People's Republic of Bangladesh

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION

Bangladesh is a democratic republic with a parliamentary form of government. On January 11, 2007, President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency that suspended all civil and political liberties. The nationwide elections scheduled for January 22 were indefinitely postponed. On April 12, 2007, Chief Advisor to the caretaker government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, announced that elections would be held before the end of 2008. Bangladesh is a developing country with poor infrastructure. Tourist facilities outside major cities and tourist areas are minimal.

GEOGRAPHY

Bangladesh is a low-lying, riparian country located in South Asia with a largely marshy jungle coastline of 710 kilometers (440 mi.) on the northern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. Formed by a deltaic plain at the confluence of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and Meghna Rivers and their tributaries, Bangladesh's alluvial soil is highly fertile but vulnerable to flood and drought.

Hills rise above the plain only in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the far southeast and the Sylhet division in the northeast. Straddling the Tropic of Cancer, Bangladesh has a subtropical monsoonal climate characterized by heavy seasonal rainfall, moderately warm temperatures, and high humidity. Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and tidal bores affect the country almost every year. Bangladesh also is affected by major cyclones--on average 16 times a decade.

Urbanization is proceeding rapidly, and it is estimated that only 30% of the population entering the labor force in the future will be absorbed into agriculture, although many will likely find other kinds of work in rural areas. The areas around Dhaka and Comilla are the most densely settled. The Sundarbans, an area of coastal tropical jungle in the southwest and last wild home of the Bengal Tiger, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts on the southeastern border with Burma and India, are the least densely populated.

PEOPLE

The area that is now Bangladesh has a rich historical and cultural past, combining Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongol/Mughul, Arab, Persian, Turkic, and west European cultures. Residents of Bangladesh, about 98% of whom are ethnic Bengali and speak Bangla, are called Bangladeshis. Urdu-speaking, non-Bengali Muslims of Indian origin, and various tribal groups, mostly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, comprise the remainder. Most Bangladeshis (about 88.3%) are Muslims, but Hindus constitute a sizable (10.5%) minority. There also are a small number of Buddhists, Christians, and animists. English is spoken in urban areas and among the educated.

Sufi religious teachers succeeded in converting many Bengalis to Islam, even before the arrival of Muslim armies from the west. About 1200 AD, Muslim invaders established political control over the Bengal region. This political control also encouraged conversion to Islam. Since then, Islam has played a crucial role in the region's history and politics, with a Muslim majority emerging, particularly in the eastern region of Bengal.

ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS

A passport, visa and onward/return ticket are required. All travelers to Bangladesh, including American citizens, must have a valid visa in their valid passport prior to arrival. A valid visa in an expired or cancelled U.S. passport is not acceptable. If you are issued a NEW U.S. passport, you must have your Bangladeshi visa transferred to that passport. Note that airport visas (landing permits) are no longer available upon arrival by air carrier. Americans should not plan to enter Bangladesh on a landing permit.

New visa rules, introduced in October 2006, require foreign nationals who come to Bangladesh to work or for long-term visits to have the appropriate work permits and clearances on arrival. There are increased financial penalties for overstaying visas. Additionally, those who overstay for more than 90 days face the possibility of being charged with violating the Foreigners Act of 1946. For further information on these rules, please check with the nearest Bangladeshi Embassy or Consulate (U.S. addresses listed below) before traveling, or visit the Bangadeshi Immigration Police website, which provides further details on rules relating to Foreigner Registrations. This website can be accessed at: http://www.immi.gov.bd.

If you intend to use Dhaka as a hub from which to visit other countries in the region, ensure that you obtain a multiple entry visa before arrival. If you intend to work for a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Bangladesh you should ensure that your sponsor has provided you with up-to-date advice on the kind of visa you must obtain before arrival. It is difficult and time-consuming to change your immigration status once you have arrived in Bangladesh.

Visas to Bangladesh which are expiring may be extended at the Directorate of Immigration and Passport, located at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Agargaon, Dhaka. The phone numbers are (880-2) 913-1891 and 913-4011.

There are two exit requirements:

When traveling by air, there is a departure tax on all foreigners except children under the age of two. This tax is often included when air tickets are purchased. Otherwise, it is collected at the airport at the time of departure. The amount of the departure tax varies, depending on the destination (e.g., the departure tax for the U.S. is the most expensive, at USD $43). There is no travel tax for transit passengers transiting Bangladesh without a visa and in country for 72 hours or fewer. These requirements may be subject to change, and travelers are advised to check with the Embassy of Bangladesh before traveling.
Departing foreign nationals are also required to comply with the income tax ordinance of 1984 and submit an income tax clearance certificate/income tax exemption certificate to local airline offices upon departure from Bangladesh. More information can be obtained from the Bangladesh Board of Revenue website.
For further information on entry requirements and possible exceptions to the exit requirements, please contact the Embassy of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (3510 International Drive, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, telephone 202-244-0183, fax 202-244-5366, website http://www.bangladoot.org), or the Bangladeshi Consulates in New York (211 E. 43rd Street, Suite 502, New York, NY 10017, telephone 212-599-6767), or Los Angeles (10850 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1250, Los Angeles, CA 90024, telephone 310-441-9399).

QUICK FACTS

Geography
Area: 147, 570 sq. km. (55,813 sq. mi.); about the size of Wisconsin.
Cities: Capital--Dhaka (pop. 10 million). Other cities--Chittagong (2.8 million), Khulna (1.8 million), Rajshahi (1 million).
Terrain: Mainly flat alluvial plain, with hills in the northeast and southeast.
Climate: Semitropical, monsoonal.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Bangladeshi(s).
Population: 147 million.
Annual growth rate: 1.7%.
Ethnic groups: Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims.
Religions: Muslim 88.3%; Hindu 10.5%; Christian 0.3%, Buddhist 0.6%, others 0.3%.
Languages: Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English.
Education: Attendance-- 61%. Literacy--62.66%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (below 1)--65/1,000. Life expectancy--61 years (male), 62 years (female).
Work force (60.3 million): Agriculture--62.3%; manufacturing and mining--7.6%; others--30.1%.

Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy.
Independence: 1971 (from Pakistan).
Constitution: 1972; amended 1974, 1979, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2004.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--unicameral Parliament (345 members). Judicial--civil court system based on British model.
Administrative subdivisions: Divisions, districts, subdistricts, unions, villages.
Political parties: 30-40 active political parties. Largest ones include Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Awami League (AL), the Jatiya Party, and the Jamaat-e-Islami Party.
Suffrage: Universal at age 18.

Economy
Fiscal year: July 1 to June 30.
Annual GDP growth rate (FY 2006): 6.7%; (FY 2007 estimated): 6.5%.
GDP: $62.02 billion.
Per capita GDP (2006): $456.
Inflation (December 2006): 6.77%.
Exchange rate: FY 2003: U.S $1=Taka 57.90; FY 2006: U.S $1=Taka 69.43; FY 2007 (January): U.S $1=Taka 69.69.
Annual budget (FY 2007): $10 billion.
Natural resources: Natural gas, fertile soil, water.
Agriculture (21.8% of GDP): Products--rice, jute, tea, sugar, wheat. Land--cultivable area cropped at rate of 180% in 2004; 176% in 1997; largely subsistence farming dependent on monsoon rainfall, but growing commercial farming and increasing use of irrigation.
Industry (Manufacturing; 17% of GDP): Types--garments and knitwear, jute goods, frozen fish and seafood, textiles, fertilizer, sugar, tea, leather, ship-breaking for scrap, pharmaceuticals, ceramic tableware, newsprint.
Trade (FY 2006): Total imports (FY 2006)--$14.74 billion: capital goods, food grains, petroleum, textiles, chemicals, vegetable oils. Growth rate over previous fiscal year: 12.17%. Total exports (FY 2006)--$10.52 billion: garments and knitwear, frozen fish, jute and jute goods, leather and leather products, tea, urea fertilizer, ceramic tableware. Growth rate over previous fiscal year: 21.63%. Exports to U.S. (FY 2006)--$3 billion. Imports from U.S. (FY 2006)--$300 million.

USEFUL LINKS

U.S. Government

Miscellaneous

BANGLADESH Directory - Bangladesh Web Directory.
BDPOD - Bangladesh Search Engine and web Directory.
OurBangla.com Deshisites - Largest Online Directory of Bangladesh.
Web Bangladesh.com - The Search Engine of Bangladesh.