Bangladesh

গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh People's Republic of Bangladesh
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: none
Anthem: Amar Shonar Bangla "My Golden Bengal"
Capital (and largest city)	Dhaka 23°42′N 90°22′E
Official languages	Bengali (Bangla)
Government	Parliamentary republic
- President	Iajuddin Ahmed
- Prime Minister	vacant
- Chief of Caretaker Govt.	Fakhruddin Ahmed
Independence	from Pakistan
- Declared	March 26, 1971
- Victory Day	December 16, 1971
Area
- Total	144,000 km² (94th) 55,622 sq mi
- Water (%)	7.0
Population
- 2006 estimate	147,365,352 (7th)
- 2001 census	129,247,233
- Density	998.6 /km² (7th) 2,639 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
- Total	$305.9 billion (31st)
- Per capita	$2100 (141st)
HDI (2004)	0.530 (medium) (137th)
Currency	Taka (BDT)
Time zone	BDT (UTC+6)
- Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+6)
Internet TLD	.bd
Calling code	+880 - SubCodes

Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is surrounded by India on all sides except for a small border with Myanmar to the far southeast and the Bay of Bengal to the south. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" and is written as বাংলাদেশ and pronounced (help·info) in the official Bengali language.

The borders of Bangladesh were set by the Partition of India in 1947, when it became the eastern wing of Pakistan (East Pakistan), separated from the western wing by 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles). Despite their common religion of Islam, the ethnic and linguistic gulf between the two wings, compounded by an apathetic government based in West Pakistan, resulted in the independence of Bangladesh under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 after the bloody Bangladesh Liberation War, in which it was supported by India. The years following independence have been marked by political turmoil, with thirteen different heads of government, and at least four military coups.

The population of Bangladesh ranks seventh in the world, but its area of approximately 144,000 square kilometres (55,600 sq mi) is ranked ninety-fourth, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world, or the most densely populated country if small island nations and city-states are not included. It is the fourth largest Muslim-majority nation, but has a slightly smaller Muslim population than the Muslim minority in India. Geographically dominated by the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the country has annual monsoon floods, and cyclones are frequent. Bangladesh is one of the founding members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), BIMSTEC, and a member of the OIC and the D-8.