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: 60.7%
permanent crops: 2.61%
other: 36.69% (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 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bangladesh Geography 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.