Location:
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between
Burma and India
Geographic Coordinates: 24 00 N,
90 00 E
Map References: Asia
Area: total: 144,000 sq km, land:
133,910 sq km; water: 10,090 sq km
Area Comparative: slightly smaller
than Iowa
Land Boundaries: total: 4,246
km,border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
Coastline: 580 km
Maritime Claims:
contiguous zone: 18 NM; territorial sea: 12 NM;
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the
continental margin; exclusive economic zone: 200
NM
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
Elevation Extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m; highest point: Keokradong
1,230 m
Natural Resources: natural gas,
arable land, timber, coal
Land Use: arable land: 60.7% permanent
crops: 2.61% other: 36.69% (1998 est.)
Irrigated Land: 38,440 sq km (1998
est.)
Natural Hazards: droughts, cyclones;
much of the country routinely inundated during the
summer monsoon season
Environment (current issues): 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):
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands. signed, but not ratified: none of the
selected agreements
Geography Note: 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
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Dhaka
