Bangladesh is located in the north-eastern part of the South Asia between 20⁰ 30¢ and 26⁰ 38¢ north latitude and 88⁰ 01¢ and 92⁰ 41¢ east longitude The country is surrounded by India on the west, the north and the north-east, Myanmar (Burma) on the south-east, and the Bay of Bengal on the south. The total area of the country is 147,570 square kilometres, 6.7 percent of which are rivers and inland water-bodies. The limits of territorial water of Bangladesh are 12 nautical miles and the area of the high seas extending to 200 nautical miles measured from the baseline constitutes the economic zone of the country.

Physiography

Except the hilly region in the north-east and south-east, some areas of high land in the north and north western part, the country consists of low, flat and fertile land. A network of rivers of which the Padma, the Jamuna, the Teesta, the Brahmaputra, the Surma, the Meghna and the Karnaphuli are important, and their tributaries numbering about 230 with a total length of about 24140 km covering the country flow down to the Bay of Bengal. The alluvial soil is thus continuously being enriched by heavy silts deposited by rivers during rainy season.

Climate

Bangladesh enjoys generally a sub-tropical monsoon climate. Three meteorological seasons are identified, which also coincide with the three main cropping seasons. The meteorological seasons are summer (March-May), monsoon (June-October) and winter (November-February). In winter there is not usually much fluctuation in temperature which ranges from minimum of 7⁰ Celsius to 12⁰ Celsius to maximum of 23⁰ to 31⁰ Celsius. The maximum temperature in summer is around 38⁰ Celsius. The monsoon experiences 80% of the total annual rainfall. The average annual rainfall varies from 1429 mm to 4338 mm.

Wind Flow

From November to February, the general directions of the winds are north easterly in the Northern Region, north westerly over the rest of western Bangladesh, and northerly in the eastern part.

From March to May, the winds are westerly or south–westerly in the western half but south-south easterly in the eastern half. Occasionally Nor’westers, of course, change the wind direction and bring relief from the dull heat.

From June to September, the winds are not all southerly, much of it being south-easterly, and even easterly.

Population

At the current annual growth rate of 2.18 percent (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 1998) the estimated population in 1998 is about 126.5 million. The population density, therefore, is about 900 persons per sq. km—the highest in the world.

Agriculture

Bangladesh is predominantly an agricultural country. This sector directly contributes around 35% of the gross domestic products. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people employing 68.5% of the labour force. Bangladesh has got one of the most fertile lands but due to paucity of capital and lack of knowledge of new inputs and techniques its yield per acre is one of the lowest in the world. Rice, wheat, jute, tea, sugarcane, tobacco, oilseeds, pulses and potatoes are the principal crops. Various kinds of vegetables and spices are also produced in Bangladesh.

Mineral Resources and Energy

The country has enormous deposit of natural gas. So far, 17 gas fields have been discovered from which natural gas is available power generation, industrial and other uses. The gas reserve is estimated is about 23.21 trillion cubic feet, of which 13.73 trillion cubic feet is considered to be recoverable. Coal deposits have been found and efforts are underway to explore them with foreign assistance. Other minerals found include hard rock, lignite, silica sand, white clay etc. There is a possibility of oil deposit in the country and efforts are being made for its exploration. The only hydroelectric project in the country having installed with a capacity producing 230-megawatt electricity is located at Kaptai in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Industries

A large number of large scale and small and medium scale industries based on indigenous and improved raw materials have been set up in Bangladesh. Among them Readymade Garments, Jute, Tanneries, Textile, Tea Processing, Fertilizer, Cement, Paper and Pulp, Chemicals and Pesticides, Food and Sugar, Engineering, Pharmaceutical, Petroleum Refinery, Distillery, Rubber and Plastics Brick Manufacturing, Assembling Buses, Trucks and Motor-cycle, Assembling Radios and Televisions are important.

Industries in Bangladesh are being set up in an unplanned way, mainly located in the urban and sub-urban areas. (Please, see Map-1).