Flag description :- Green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam.

Geography :- With an area of about 144,000 sq km, Bangladesh is situated between latitudes 20 degrees 34' and 26 degree 38' north and longitudes 88 degree 01' and 92 degree 41' east. The country is bordered by India on the east, west and north and by the Bay of Bengal on the south. There is also a small strip of frontier with Burma on the southeastern edge. The land is a deltaic plain with a network of numerous rivers and canals. Hilly regions on the northeast and southeast with an average elevation of 244m and 610m respectively mark a variation to the general topography of the country. The highest point (1230m) is located at the southeastern extremity of the erstwhile district of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bangladesh is a low-lying riverine country located in South Asia. The country contains the confluence of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and Meghna Rivers and their tributaries which empty into the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh is bordered by India to the east, north, and west and shares a short border with Myanmar (Burma) in the southeast. The country is mainly flat, with 90% of its landmass less than 10 meters above sea level. With a population of approximately 140 million, Bangladesh is the most densely populated agricultural country in the world.

Government :- After a bloody struggle for liberation from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh was established as a parliamentary democracy. The country was under military rule for many years, but a democratically elected government was re-established in 1991. Parliamentary elections took place in 1996 and 2001, with a peaceful transfer of power. The major political parties are the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Awami League, the Jatiya Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami Party. The current government, elected in 2001, is made up of a coalition led by the BNP. National elections will be held again by early 2007.

Climate :- Bangladesh has a typical tropical monsoon climate marked by sweltering heat and high humidity for the major part of the year. The average annual temperature ranges from 18.9 to 29.0 Celsius (65 F 85 F). Annual rainfall varies from 160cm to 200cm in the west, 200cm to 400cm in the southeast and 250cm to 400cm in the northeast. The country has mainly four seasons, the winter (Dec-Feb), summer (Mar-May), monsoon (Jun-Sep) and autumn (Oct-Nov). The rainless winter is the most pleasant season when average maximum and minimum temperatures vary between 26.5 C and 13.5 C. In rare cases, the temperature falls to less than 5 C. In the summer average maximum and minimum temperatures are 33.3 C and 22.2 C. The summer and monsoon are also the time for tropical cyclones, storms and tidal bores.

Physical Environment :- Bangladesh is nestled in the crook of the Bay of Bengal, surrounded by India. It shares a border in the south-east with Myanmar and fronts onto the Bay of Bengal. The country is flat. Over 90% of the country is composed of alluvial plains less than 10m above sea level. The only relief from these low-lying plains occurs in the north-east and south-east corners where modest hills rise to an average height of around 240m (787ft) and 600m (1970ft) respectively.

Roughly two-thirds of Bangladesh is fertile arable land and a little over 10% remains forested. The country is home to the Royal Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world. There are also plenty of monkeys, langurs, gibbons (the only ape on the subcontinent), otters and mongooses. Reptiles include the sea tortoise, mud turtle, river tortoise, pythons, crocodiles and a variety of poisonous snakes. There are more than 600 species of birds. Bangladesh also has the largest number of fresh water fish in the world.

Economy :- Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. The economy is largely agricultural, with the cultivation of rice the single most important activity. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, inadequate power supplies, and slow progress towards various necessary reforms. Natural hazards remain a major worry. Recently, severe floods, lasting from July to October 1998, endangered the livelihood of more than 20 million people.

Bangladesh has experienced steady economic growth at a rate of approximately five percent annually the past decade. Manufacturing of ready-made garments provides employment for over 2 million people, many of them women, and generates nearly 75 percent of the export earnings of the country. The discovery of substantial reserves of natural gas in Bangladesh could significantly boost the country's economy and the people's well-being if the reserves are managed carefully.

Agriculture :- In the agricultural sector, Bangladesh has made impressive gains in the production of wheat and rice. Bangladesh is one of the few countries that has the potential to grow three rice crops a year and is essentially self-sufficient in rice production.

Non-Governmenta Partners :- International as well as indigenous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a major role in delivering social services and poverty reduction programs. The two largest and best-known Bangladeshi NGOs.

Travel :- Bangladesh is one of the few countries in South Asia, which remains to be explored. Bangladesh has a delicate and distinctive attraction of its own to offer and it is definitely not a tourist haunt like Nepal or India. Bangladesh is like a painter's dream come true with a rich tapestry of colors and texture. The traditional emphasis of the tourist trade has always been on the material facilities offered by a country rather than on its actual charms. This may be a reason why Bangladesh has seldom been highlighted in the World's tourist maps.

It's a land of enormous beauty, hundreds of serpentine rivers, crystal clear water lakes surrounded by ever green hills, luxuriant tropical rain forests, beautiful cascades of green tea gardens, world's largest mangrove forest preserved as World Heritage, home of the Royal Bengal Tiger and the wild lives, warbling of birds in green trees, wind in the paddy fields, abundance of sunshine, world's longest natural sea beach, rich cultural heritage, relics of ancient Buddhist civilizations and colorful tribal lives, - Bangladesh creates an unforgettable impression of a land of peace.

You'll appreciate our culture and the environment. These are not simply sight-seeing excursions, but real-time learning experiences. Enjoy an ideal blend of adventure and exploration with comfort and relaxation. Here you find that you are not alone. With us, any place in Bangladesh is a home away from home.

Official Name :- People's Republic of Bangladesh Capital :- Dhaka Ethnicity: Bengali 98%; tribal groups and non-Bengali Muslims 2% Population :- Approximately 140 million* Population Growth Rate: 1.9%* Life Expectancy :- 63.5 years (male and female)* Religions :- Muslim 88%; Hindu 11%; Christian, Buddhist, others 1% Official Language :- Bengali Year of Independence: 1971 (from Pakistan) Type of Government :- Parliamentary Democracy GNP Per Capita: $440* Annual Real Growth Rate of GDP: 6.3%* GDP Composition by Sector:* Agriculture - 21% Industry - 27% Services - 52% Adult Literacy: 41%, Male - 52%, Female - 29% .  Population :- (2007 est.): 150,448,339 (growth rate: 2.1%); birth rate: 29.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 59.1/1000; life expectancy: 62.8; density per sq mi: 2,910 . Major trading partners: U.S., Germany, UK, France, Italy, India, China, Singapore, Kuwait, Japan, Hong Kong (2004).

Communications :- Telephones: main lines in use: 831,000 (2004); mobile cellular :- 2,781,600 (2004). Radio broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006) Television broadcast stations: 15 (1999). Internet hosts :- 266 (2005). Internet users: 300,000 (2005). Transportation :- Railways: total: 2,706 km (2004). Highways: total: 239,226 km; paved: 22,726 km; unpaved: 216,500 km (2003). Waterways: 8,372 km; note: includes 2,635 km main cargo routes (2005). Ports and harbors: Chittagong, Mongla Port. Airports: 16 (2005).

International disputes :- discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources.