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
contiguous zone: 18 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

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: 61%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 36% (1998 est.)

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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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

NOTE: The information regarding Bangladesh on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bangladesh Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bangladesh Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.