is one small boat
landing area along the middle of the west coast

Airports:
1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m, completely covered with
vegetation and unusable (2003 est.)

Transportation - note:
there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast

Military Baker Island

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US
Coast Guard

Transnational Issues Baker Island

Disputes - international:
none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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@Bangladesh

Introduction Bangladesh

Background:
Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan
seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this
extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy
season, hampering economic development.

Geography Bangladesh

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:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 18 nm
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: 62.11%
permanent crops: 3.07%
other: 34.82% (2001)

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 sh