Bangladesh Geography
LocationSouthern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Geographic coordinates
24 00 N, 90 00 E
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 (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 shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation
Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal
