Case study on Bangladesh.

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Name: People's Republic of Bangladesh.

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India. 
Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 90 00 E.
Area:

Total: 144,000 sq km.
land: 133,910 sq km.
water: 10,090 sq km. 
Coastline: 580 km. 
Climate: tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast. 
Land height extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m.
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m. 
Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber.
Land use:
arable land 67% 
forest and woodland 16% 
permanent crops 2% 
meadows and pastures 4% 
others 11%

Irrigated land:
 38,440 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely flooded during the summer monsoon season.
Environment-current issues: many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; limited access to potable water; water-borne diseases prevalent; water pollution especially of fishing areas results from the use of commercial pesticides; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation; deforestation; severe overpopulation.

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Population Statistics

Population: 
133,376,684 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 
0-14 years: 0-14 years: 33.8% (male 23,069,242; female 21,995,457)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 42,924,778; female 40,873,077)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 2,444,314; female 2,069,816) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 
1.59% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 25.12 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 8.47 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 
Net migration rate: -0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex Ratio: 
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female.
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female.
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female.
65 years and over: 1.18 male(s)/female.
Total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.).

Life expectancy at birth: 
total population: 60.92 years.
Male: 61.08 years
female: 60.74 years (2002 est.)

Religions: 
Muslim 88.3%, Hindu 10.5%, other 1.2%.

Languages: 
Bangla (official), English.

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write.
Total population: 56%.
                             
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Male: 63%.
Female: 49% (2000 est.).

Geographic Features

Bangladesh is situated in South Asia between India and Myanmar. With an area of 148,393 sq. km and a population of approx. 130 million, it occupies the apex of the arch formed by the Bay of Bengal into which drain a large number of rivers and their tributaries crisscrossing the country and making it a very fertile delta. 

However, a dominant feature of life is the annual cycle of overabundance of water in the monsoon and its scarcity in winter. But the phenomenon changes dramatically during the winter months of November to May when the flows in the three major rivers- Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghan - decrease considerably and most of the streams and channels almost dry up leading to shortage of fresh water for use in agriculture, fishery, navigation and industries as well as for domestic use. 

Normal floods are regarded as highly beneficial for revitalizing the cropland. The people have also learnt the coping strategies to minimize their adverse effects. Various measures have been taken in the past to cope with the effects of catastrophic floods but not always effectively. Comprehensive multi-national studies have been made during the recent years under the World Bank coordinated Flood Action Plan to find more effective ways to mitigating such floods without causing environmental hazards.

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Agriculture of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is primarily an agrarian economy. Agriculture is the single largest producing sector of economy since it comprises about 30% of the country's GDP and employing around 60% of the total labour force. The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development and food security. 

Meeting the nation's food requirements remains the key-objective of the

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government and in recent years there has been substantial increase in grain production. ...

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