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Location:
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Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
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Geographic coordinates:
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24 00 N, 90 00 E
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Map references:
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Asia
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Area:
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total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km
water: 10,090 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Iowa
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Land boundaries:
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total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
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Coastline:
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580 km
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 18 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
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Climate:
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tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
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Terrain:
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mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m
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Natural resources:
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natural gas, arable land, timber, coal
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Land use:
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arable land: 60.7%
permanent crops: 2.61%
other: 36.69% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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38,440 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
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Environment - current issues:
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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
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Environment - international agreements:
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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
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Geography - note:
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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
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