Bangladesh:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Bangladesh:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. A military-backed caretaker regime suspended planned parliamentary elections in January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption; the regime has pledged new democratic elections by the end of 2008. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.

Location	Definition Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Geographic coordinates	Definition 24 00 N, 90 00 E
Map references	Definition Asia
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly smaller than Iowa
Land boundaries	Definition total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
Coastline	Definition 580 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
Climate	Definition tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
Terrain	Definition mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m
Natural resources	Definition natural gas, arable land, timber, coal
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 47,250 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 1,210.6 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 79.4 cu km/yr (3%/1%/96%) per capita: 560 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
Environment - current issues	Definition many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal

Bangladesh: Geography

Bangladesh:
Geography