Introduction
Temptations are sometimes very good in life and must not be resisted.One may
wonder what it is all about.We are talking about this Unique cultural learning
opportunities and village homestays in the hilltribe regions.Sea beach &
island holidays, mangrove forest & river cruises that can be customized
and well adjusted to your needs and also your budget.Folks we are talking about
the country of Bangladesh.Holidaying is all about enjoying and exploring the
virgin lands that havenot been treaded.So Get off the beaten track, interact
with indigenous and tribal folk to experience and learn about their unique completely
nonviolent culture and lifestyle. These are 'people-meet-people' encounters
at their very best. It has all the good tourist spots that one would like to
discover and rediscover again and again.You can float down shimmering rivers
in wooden country boats, trek through lush forests to discover hidden Mru villages
on verdant hilltops.The citizens of this country are very inclined towards religion
and strictly adhere to their culture and beliefs.
Business and Economy
Although this country of Bangladesh is very small comparitively, the industrial
sector contributes significantly to export receipts; it also provides employment
to the needy people in the country and a market for cash crops. Jute products
are quite an attraction in the export scenario mainly burlap sacking and carpet
backing for export .Also the cotton textiles industry that is very useful for
the domestic consumption.Since the early years of 1980s the agriculture production
of the ready-made garments for the US market has grown rapidly and quite immensely.Bangladesh
is the fifth largest supplier of cotton apparel to the United States that is
in a way very dependant from this country, and it has begun exporting to West
European markets. Breaking up ships for scrap, using methods that are highly
labor intensive, now meets most of Bangladesh's domestic steel needs.
Major Cities
Among the major cities of Bangladesh there are a lot that are worth visiting
and seeing.The capital of the country is Dhaka, that has the maximum number
of inhabitants with the population ranging from 3,368,940 inhabitants (1991);
Chittagong, the leading port is a part of Bangladesh.Khulna, a rapidly growing
center for small-scale industry contributes a lot to the economy of this country.Narayangang
is the internal port for Dhaka that helps in the communication between places,and
lastly there is Rajshahi that is located in a silk-producing area that is the
main silk supply placde here.
Fact Sheet
GDP: purchasing power parity - $230 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,750 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 30%
industry: 18%
services: 52% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 36%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 29%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 34 (1995-96 )
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 64.1 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry
11% (FY95/96)
Unemployment rate: 35% (2001 est.)
Industries: cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea
processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering,
sugar
Industrial production growth rate: 6.2% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 13.493 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 92%
Agriculture - products: rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes,
tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
Exports: $6.6 billion (2001)
Exports - commodities: garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen
fish and seafood
Exports - partners: US 31.8%, Germany 10.9%, UK 7.9%, France 5.2%, Netherlands
5.2%, Italy 4.42% (2000)
Imports: $8.7 billion (2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel,
textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement
Imports - partners: India 10.5%, EU 9.5%, Japan 9.5%, Singapore 8.5%,
China 7.4% (2000)
Debt - external: $17 billion (2000) (2000)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
