ation: Bahrain is a destination country for men and
women from South and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly to work as
laborers or domestic servants, but may be subjected to conditions of
involuntary servitude when faced with exorbitant recruitment and
transportation fees, withholding of their passports, restrictions on
their movement, non-payment of wages, and physical or sexual abuse;
Eastern European women are also believed to be trafficked to Bahrain
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Bahrain's efforts to address
trafficking in persons are based largely on pledges of future
efforts; the government did not enact a comprehensive
anti-trafficking law extending labor protection to domestic workers

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Bangladesh

Introduction Bangladesh

Background:
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. 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
contiguous zone: 18 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin

Climate:
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March
to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon