Bangladesh Passport

【 Country Name 】 The People's Republic of Bangladesh.

【 Area 】 Approximately 147600 square kilometers.

The population is approximately 172 million. Bangladeshis account for 98%, with over 20 other ethnic minorities. Bengali is the national language and English is the official language. Islam is the state religion, and Muslims make up 88% of the total population.

Dhaka, the capital, has a population of over 16 million.

[Head of State] President Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppu, inaugurated on April 24, 2023, for a term of 5 years.

[Important Festivals] Independence Day and National Day: March 26th; Victory Day: December 16th; Martyrs' Day: February 21st; Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha (Eid al Adha): According to the Islamic calendar, they change every year.

Located on the delta formed by the alluvial deposits of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers in the northeast of the South Asian subcontinent. It borders India to the east, west, and north, Myanmar to the southeast, and the Bay of Bengal to the south. The coastline is 550 kilometers long. 85% of the region is plain, while the southeast and northeast are hilly areas. Most regions have a subtropical monsoon climate, characterized by hot, humid, and rainy weather. The whole year is divided into winter (November to February of the following year), summer (March to June), and rainy season (July to October). The annual average temperature is 26.5 ℃. Winter is the most pleasant season of the year. The lowest temperature is 4 ℃, the highest temperature in summer reaches 45 ℃, and the average temperature during the rainy season is 30 ℃. The Bengali people are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the South Asian subcontinent. The Bengal region has established independent states several times, including present-day Indian states such as West Bengal and Bihar. In the 16th century, Meng had developed into the most densely populated, economically developed, and culturally prosperous region on the subcontinent. In the mid-18th century, it became the center of British colonial rule over India. In the second half of the 19th century, it became a province of British India. In 1947, India and Pakistan were divided, and Bangladesh was placed under Pakistan (known as "East Pakistan"). In March 1971, Dongba declared independence. In January 1972, the People's Republic of Bangladesh was officially established.

Since the 1990s, Bangladesh has mainly been governed alternately by the Nationalist Party and the People's Alliance (abbreviated as "Pakatan Harapan"). In October 2006, the Nationalist Party government of Meng ended its 5-year term. Due to serious differences among the main political parties in Meng on issues such as electoral reform, the parliament was dissolved and a caretaker government was established. In December 2008, Meng held the 9th parliamentary election, and the alliance led by the People's Alliance won. On January 6, 2009, Sheikh Hasina, the Chairperson of the People's Alliance, became the Prime Minister. In January 2014, Bangladesh held its 10th parliamentary elections. The positions of the People's Alliance and the Nationalist Party on issues such as the organizational form of the general election are far apart, and the struggle is fierce. The ruling party, the People's Alliance, organized elections and won the majority of seats in parliament despite opposition parties such as the Nationalist Party's boycott. In December 2018, Bangladesh held its 11th parliamentary elections, and the People's Alliance led by Hasina once again won the majority of seats in parliament and was successfully re elected. On January 7, 2024, Bangladesh held its 12th parliamentary elections, with the ruling party Pakatan Harapan winning. On the 11th, Hasina, the chairman of the People's Alliance Party, was re elected as prime minister. In July 2024, there was a large-scale protest against the quota system for civil service positions in Meng. In August, Prime Minister Hasina resigned and left the country.

The Constitution was passed by the Parliament in 1972 and came into effect. After the military administration in March 1982, the implementation of the Constitution was suspended. The Constitution was reinstated in November 1986. The 16th constitutional amendment was passed in 2014, mainly to abolish the caretaker government system.

The parliament adopts a unicameral parliamentary system, namely the National Assembly (Jatiya Sangsad). The Constitution stipulates that the parliament exercises legislative power. The parliament is composed of 300 members directly elected by citizens and 50 selected female members, with a term of 5 years. The parliament has a chairman and deputy chairman, who are elected by the members of parliament. The parliament also has a secretariat and specialized committees. In August 2024, President Meng Chup dissolved the National Assembly.

In August 2024, Bangladesh formed an interim government. Economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as the Chief Advisor to the interim government, responsible for affairs such as defense, food, and public administration. The main advisory members include: Diplomatic Advisor Touhid Hossain, Finance and Business Advisor Salahuddin Ahmed, Interior and Agriculture Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Planning and Education Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud, Justice, Overseas Chinese Welfare and Culture Advisor Asif Nazrul, and Youth and Labor Employment Advisor Asif Mahmud.

The country is divided into 8 administrative districts: Dhaka, Chittagong, Kurna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet, Langpur, and Mymensingh, with 64 counties, 472 sub counties, 4490 townships, and approximately 60000 villages.

The Supreme Court is divided into the Court of Appeal and the High Court. The Chief Justice and several judges are appointed by the President. The Chief Justice and a portion of designated judges hear cases in the Court of Appeal, while other judges hear cases in the High Court. Dhaka has a high court and a labor appeal court. In addition, there are circuit courts, county courts, civil and criminal courts.

There are many political parties, mainly including:

(1) Awami League, abbreviated as "Awami League", was formerly known as the Pakistan People's Muslim League, established in October 1949 and renamed in 1952. Meng was the first ruling party from independence until 1975. Its purpose is nationalism, democracy, socialism, and secularism. In September 1992, the National Council of the People's League revised the Party Constitution, abandoned the principle of public ownership, implemented a market economy, and introduced a mechanism of free competition; Implement a non aligned foreign policy and advocate establishing friendly relations with all countries. Chairman Sheikh Hasina.

(2) The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP）： Established in September 1978. Advocate for the maintenance of national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, believe in Allah, democracy, and nationalism, and ensure social and economic justice. The basic policies are democratic pluralism, privatization, elimination of excessive administrative intervention, and establishment of a market competitive economy. Our foreign policy adheres to neutrality and non alignment, advocating friendship with all countries. The acting chairman is Tariq Rahman.

(3) Bangladesh Jatiya Party: Established on January 1, 1986. Advocate for maintaining independence and sovereignty, establishing an Islamic ideal society, promoting nationalism, democracy, and social progress, and developing the economy. At the end of June 1997, the National Party split, and former Prime Minister Qazi and others established the National Party (Zha Mu faction), which later merged in December 1998. In April 1999, the then Minister of Transport, Manju, and the former Vice Chairman of the National Party, Mizan, established the National Party's Miman faction, causing the party to split again. The mainstream chairman of the National Party is Ghalam Muhammad Quader.

(4) Jamaat-e-Islami Party: Established in 1946. Previously banned for opposing Bangladesh's independence. The activity resumed in 1979. In October 2001, as a member of the Nationalist Party led Four Party Alliance, he participated in the general election and became one of the ruling parties. The party claims that the ultimate goal is to turn Bangladesh into an Islamic country, advocating for the abolition of all non Islamic laws and believing that foreign policy should reflect Islamic ideals. The chairman is Matiur Rahman Nizami.

[Important Person] Mohammad Shahabuddin Chup: President. Born in 1949, he is a senior member of the People's League and participated in the Meng Independence War. He held important positions such as member of the Central Advisory Committee of the People's League, commissioner of the Anti Corruption Committee, and chairman of the Propaganda and Publishing Committee. On April 24, 2023, he was sworn in as the 22nd President of Bangladesh.

Muhammad Yunus: Chief Advisor to the Provisional Government. Born in 1940. I have studied at Mengji University, Dhaka University, and Vanderbilt University in the United States, and obtained a PhD in Economics. Establishing a microcredit model, dedicated to leading people out of poverty, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. On August 8, 2024, he was appointed as the Chief Advisor of the Meng Provisional Government.

In recent years, Bangladesh's economy has maintained a rapid development momentum and is the second largest economy in South Asia. It plans to graduate from the list of "least developed countries" by 2026. During the reign of the People's Alliance government, priority was given to developing agriculture, advocating for the implementation of a market economy, implementing privatization policies, improving the investment environment, vigorously attracting foreign investment, and actively creating export processing zones. The Bangladeshi government has formulated a massive economic development plan, including building a "digital Bangladesh", increasing power generation capacity, and achieving food self-sufficiency, but faces challenges such as funding, technology, and energy shortages. The main economic data for the fiscal year 2022/2023 (from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023) are as follows:

Gross Domestic Product: 454 billion US dollars.

Per capita Gross Domestic Product: 2657 US dollars.

Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate: 5.78%.

Currency name: Taka.

Exchange rate: 1 USD ≈ 120 Taka.

(Source: Meng, Ministry of Finance, 2024 Economic Review)

Meng has limited mineral resources. The announced reserves of natural gas, the main energy source, are 311.39 billion cubic meters, mainly distributed in several small areas in Northeast China, with coal reserves of 750 million tons. The forest area is about 2 million hectares, with a coverage rate of approximately 13.4%.

Industry mainly focuses on raw material industry, including cement, fertilizers, jute and its products, white sugar, cotton yarn, soybean oil, paper, etc; Weak heavy industry and underdeveloped manufacturing industry. The main sources of direct investment are the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Norway, Germany, and South Korea.

Transportation: The total length of highways is 22400 kilometers, including 3991 kilometers of national highways, 4898 kilometers of regional highways, and 13600 kilometers of branch highways. 76% of freight and 73% of passenger transport are undertaken by road transportation.

Railway: The total length is 3101 kilometers. The annual passenger turnover is about 4.6 billion people, and the freight volume is 760 million ton kilometers.

Water transportation: Inland water transportation is developed and mainly operated by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Company (BIWTC) and Bangladesh Transport Company (BSC).

Air freight: Biman Bangladesh has 7 domestic routes and 21 international routes. Meng currently has 3 international airports (Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet) and 5 domestic airports. There are direct flights from Dhaka to Beijing, Guangzhou, Kunming, and Hong Kong.

As of October 2024, the total foreign exchange reserves of Bangladesh are approximately 20 billion US dollars.

We have trade relations with over 130 countries and regions, with major export markets including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Canada, and Hong Kong, China, with the United States being our top export market. The main export products include clothing, jute and its products, leather, tea, aquatic products, etc.

The main import markets are India, China, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Thailand. China is its first source country of imports, mainly importing raw materials, textiles, petroleum and petroleum related products, basic metals such as steel, edible oil, cotton, etc.

Meng's foreign trade situation for the fiscal year 2022/2023: The total amount is about 140.6 billion US dollars, of which the export value is about 63 billion US dollars; The import value is 77.6 billion US dollars.

International aid is an important source of Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves and a major source of funding for investment and development projects. Japan, the United States, Canada, as well as international institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, are the main providers.

The armed forces of Bangladesh are composed of regular and quasi military forces. The President is the supreme commander of the armed forces, and the Prime Minister holds real power over the military. The army, navy, and air force are separated, and the operational command of the three armies is respectively under the responsibility of the chief of staff of the three armies, implementing a voluntary military service system. The total military strength of the three armed forces is about 155000 people. The army has 120000 people, the navy has 10000 people, the air force has 10000 people, and the quasi military organization has 15000 people. Quasi military forces include rifle units, rural guards, coast guards, national student groups, and police forces.

The education system consists of 5 years of primary school, 7 years of secondary school, and 4 years of university. The current government attaches great importance to education and stipulates that girls under grade 8 enjoy free and compulsory education. There are 29 national universities and 51 private universities. The main universities include Dhaka University, North South University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Rajshahi University, etc.

There are over 1660 types of newspapers and magazines approved for public distribution, with the main Mongolian language newspapers being "Tuanjie Daily", "Revolutionary Daily", "Voice of the People", and "News Daily". The main English newspapers are: Bangladesh Observer, Daily Star, Independent, and Financial Express.

News agencies: Bangladesh News Agency (state-owned), United News Agency (private), and South Asia News Agency (private, established on December 27, 1995).

Radio Station: Bangladesh Radio was established in 1982. In addition to the national station in Dhaka, there are 8 local stations that broadcast daily in 7 languages including English, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, and Nepali to countries and regions such as Europe, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, and Nepal.

Television Station: The national television station was established in 1964, with 2 stations in Dhaka and Chittagong, and 11 relay stations nationwide. There are two ground satellite relay stations. Meng also has private television stations such as ATN, Channel-1, N-TV, and RTV.

Adhere to the policy of independence and non alignment. While balancing the development of relations with major powers, emphasis should be placed on maintaining traditional relations with Islamic countries, maintaining relations with India, and strengthening relations with Western countries. Bangladesh actively participates in the activities of international or regional organizations such as the United Nations, the Non Aligned Movement, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Commonwealth. Bangladesh attaches great importance to economic diplomacy, emphasizes the establishment of a just new international economic order, is committed to promoting regional cooperation in South Asia, and actively participates in sub regional and cross regional economic cooperation. Advocate for comprehensive and thorough disarmament, and oppose Western countries using human rights issues to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

The Bangladeshi government is actively seeking foreign aid and developing relations with the United States in order to alleviate poverty. The United States attaches great importance to the strategic position of Bangladesh as a populous and regionally moderate Muslim country, and has provided over 8 billion US dollars in aid to Bangladesh so far. In recent years, the heads of state and high-ranking officials of the two countries have maintained close contact. In May 2012, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Bangladesh and the two countries announced the establishment of a "partnership dialogue" mechanism. In August 2016, US Secretary of State Kerry visited Bangladesh and both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism exchanges and law enforcement security. In June 2019, a new round of dialogue on the Bangladesh US partnership was held in Washington. In October 2020, US Deputy Secretary of State Reagan visited Bangladesh, stating that Bangladesh is an important partner of the US Indo Pacific region and will become the core of US work in the region. In December 2021, the United States announced sanctions against the Meng Rapid Action Force. In April 2022, Mong's Foreign Minister Mormon visited the United States and held a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In May 2023, the United States announced visa restrictions on Meng. In May 2024, Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs at the US State Department, visited Bangladesh. In September, a cross departmental delegation consisting of Brent Neumann, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for International Financial Affairs, Lindsay Ford, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asian Affairs, and the United States Agency for International Development visited Bangladesh. In September, Donald Lu, the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs of the United States, visited Bangladesh. In September, Yunus, the Chief Advisor of the Meng Provisional Government, met with US President Biden during his attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA.

Bangladesh attaches great importance to improving and developing its relationship with India. The alliance led by Hasina has close relations with India. In January 2010, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina visited India and achieved concrete results in infrastructure construction, trade, electricity and other fields. India promised to provide a $1 billion loan to Bangladesh and allowed India to use the ports of Chittagong and Mongla. In September 2011, Indian Prime Minister Singh visited Bangladesh and the two countries signed multiple cooperation agreements in areas such as trade, education, and transportation. In June 2015, Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Bangladesh and the two sides signed 22 cooperation documents, covering many fields such as economy, trade, transportation, science and technology, security, and humanities. In April 2017, Prime Minister Hasina visited India and the two sides signed 34 cooperation documents on defense, trade and investment, energy electronics, and other areas. In May 2018, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina visited West Bengal, India and met with Prime Minister Modi. In October 2019, Prime Minister Hasina visited India and the two sides signed a series of cooperation agreements. In March 2021, Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Bangladesh to attend the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bangladesh's "founding father" Mujibur Rahman and the celebration of the 50th anniversary of independence. During Modi's visit to Bangladesh, the two countries signed five memorandums of understanding on cooperation, covering areas such as connectivity, public health, commerce, information technology, and sports. In September 2022, Prime Minister Hasina visited India and Bangladesh and India signed seven memorandums of understanding on cooperation in areas such as the division of the Kushala River, technology, justice, railways, broadcasting and television, and space technology. From June 8th to 10th, 2024, Prime Minister Hasina will attend the inauguration ceremony of Prime Minister Modi in India. On June 21-22, Prime Minister Hasina paid a state visit to India and signed 10 cooperation documents in areas such as connectivity, maritime cooperation, digital partnership, and health. In August, Yunus, the chief advisor of the interim government of Bangladesh, had a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Modi. In the same month, Yunus Video attended the 3rd Global Southern Voices Online Summit hosted by India.

In recent years, the relationship between Bangladesh and Japan has heated up rapidly. In 2014, Prime Minister Hasina and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe exchanged visits, elevating their relationship to a comprehensive partnership. The Japanese side announced the provision of $6 billion in aid to the Bangladeshi side. Meng supports Japan becoming a permanent member of the Security Council. In May 2016, Prime Minister Hasina was invited to attend the expanded G7 summit in Japan. In May 2019, Prime Minister Hasina made an official visit to Japan. In April 2023, Prime Minister Hasina visited Japan and the two sides elevated the Bangladesh Japan relationship from a "comprehensive partnership" to a "strategic partnership".