Bangladesh: A Quick Primer

This is a two part series on Bangladesh-whenever doing any sort of development work, it is important to understand as much as possible about a country. This post (first in a two part series) will address some of the basic facts and history of Bangladesh, and the second part will examine the country quantitatively on  a macro view.

Every morning, I walk about 10 minutes to the Grameen Bank headquarters, and on an average day, I am confronted by a number of beggars. It begs (no pun intended) the question of- how does a country like Bangladesh get stuck in such extreme poverty, while other countries such as the United States are able to enjoy the fruits of life? The answer to an abstract question like this is complicated, and a careful/thorough diagnosis is necessary. Personally, I don’t know if I have the expertise to answer such a question-there are so many factors that determine the economic success of a country. The confluence of geography, government, natural resource endowment, religion, culture, social structures, monetary/fiscal policy, trade, and demographics are just some of the factors that can affect a countries economic prosperity, or struggles, which is the case for many of the South Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries.

With that in mind, it’s essential to begin with a short history on Bangladesh, and then analyze the country based on pure factual data (Part 2). I include over 10 data points for Bangladesh, and four other comparison countries-The United States, France, China, and Nigeria. The comparison countries were chosen somewhat arbitrarily, but represent a wide spectrum of economies-the developed Western superpowers in the US and France, a rising Asian superpower, and a struggling but improving African country in Nigeria. All the data is extracted from the 2009 CIA World Factbook, and some minor manipulations of the raw data are made to explore the numbers in further detail.

History

The People’s Republic of Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan on December 16, 1971. The borders of Bangladesh were determined in 1947 after India was granted independence, and subsequently, became the eastern region of the newly formed Pakistan (Bangladesh was known as East Pakistan). However, Bangladesh was separated by 1,600 km across the lands of India. Political and linguistic discrimination as well as neglect from their government on the other side of India caused the Bangladeshi people to revolt against the West Pakistan. Bangladesh sought independence in 1971, and victory day soon followed.

Geography/Climate

Geographically, the country is situated by the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, which causes a devastating annual monsoon season and cyclones (Read about Cyclone Aila on a earlier post of mine, Aila hit in the end of May). Many of the landless poor in Bangladesh are therefore forced to live and cultivate flood-prone plains. The environmental issues are plentiful: waterborne illnesses are common in surface water, water pollution, ground water is contaminated by arsenic, soil degradation, erosion, deforestation, and severe population density. (See Video 1 & 2 of Population Density)

The Bangladeshi climate is tropical, with a mild winter from October to March, followed by a hot, humid summer from March to June. From June to October, the monsoon season begins and inundates the country with rainfall.

Government

Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy. Elections are held every 5 years, the prime minister is the head of the government and forms the cabinet. The President is a figurehead position, and is elected by the parliament.

Other

Over 89% of Bangladeshis are Muslim, and around 9% of the population is Hindu. The national language is Bangla (or Bengali).

Part 2 will be released shortly. As always, please contact me with any questions, suggestions, comments or criticism!