Introduction
Bangladesh
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Background:
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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.
Geography
Bangladesh
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Location:
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Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Geographic coordinates:
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24 00 N, 90 00 E
Map references:
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Asia
Area:
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total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km
water: 10,090 sq km
Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Iowa
Land boundaries:
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total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
Coastline:
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580 km
Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 ...