Bangladesh: Social Welfare & Human Development
Social Welfare
Since poverty alleviation is a major goal of the Government, thrust is
being given on socio-economic development of the underprivileged groups.
The main emphasis here is on adoption of integrated and comprehensive
approach taking the family as the basic unit for social services
programs with emphasis on family and group development rather that individual development.
The government has been implementing the following programs in the Social Welfare sector:
(a) Urban and rural community development program.
(b) Development services for the physically and the mentally disabled.
(c) Development services for children.
(d) Welfare services for the juvenile and the distressed women.
(e) Welfare services for the aged and the infirm.
(f) Rehabilitation program for the addicts.
(g) Social welfare services for the beggars.
(h) Social welfare services by non-government organizations
Rural Development
More than 50% of the country's GDP comes from the rural sector.
Development of this sector is thus crucial for national development.
The Rural Development and Cooperatives Division of the Government are
responsible for planning implementation. Monitoring and evaluation of
rural development programs. Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BROB),
the Department of Cooperatives and the Academies fur Rural Development
at Comilla and Bogra play important roles in environmental efforts for
rural development. Major functions of the rural development agencies
include employment and income generation, provision of credit and
institutional support to rural target groups, vulnerable group
development, formation of rural cooperatives, provision of health care,
sanitation, safe drinking water, education etc.
Alongside the
public sector, the NGOs also play a key-role in rural development
efforts. Organizations like the Grameen Bank and BRAC have earned
world-wide acclaim in the field.
Labour and Employment
The present government has undertaken various measures to expand the
opportunities for domestic and overseas employment. Remittances from
Bangladeshis working abroad have marked a steep rise during the nineties
due to a massive outflow of workers from Bangladesh. As an export item,
manpower exports currently occupy the second position with an annual
inflow of over 1 billion U.S. Dollars. The Middle Eastern countries
along with Malaysia, South Korea and Japan are the principal destination
for Bangladeshi workers.
The Labors Policy of the present
Government embodies creation of an environment conducive to improved
Labors-Management relations in order to provide higher wages through
higher productivity, Tripartism. Productivity, provision of incentives,
Labors welfare. employment generation, earnings according to work, and a
healthy growth of trade Unionism have been emphasized for ensuring
basic needs of all and a balanced economic growth.
Women and Children Affairs
The government is trying hard to integrate the womenfolk of the country
into the mainstream of the development process which is one of the main
strategies for overall 50cm-economic development. Poverty,
malnutrition, hunger, illiteracy, etc. are largely concentrated around
womenfolk, and as such women can act as uniquely suitable agents for
elimination of these socio-economic maladies. Attainment of reasonable
growth rate, alleviation of poverty through generation of production
employment opportunities and increased self-reliance are inextricably
linked with increased participation of women in development efforts.
The Department of Women's Affairs with a countrywide network and Jatiya
Mohila Sangstha - an organization with branches all over the country
promote women's rights, interests and soclo-economic opportunities.
Appropriate laws have been framed, especially during the nineties, to
stop repression and discrimination against women. The government
reconstituted the National Women's Development Council in January, 1997,
to provide overall guidance on women's development issues.
The National Women's Development Policy announced by the present
government aims at improving the lot of the neglected womenfolk of the
country, ensure equality of men and women in all spheres of national
life including state, society, family, politics, administrative and
economic arena, ensure security and empowerment of women, groom up women
as educated and efficient human resource, eliminate discriminations and
repression on women and girl-child, establish human rights of women,
alleviate their poverty and above all ensure their participation in the
development process. Appropriate strategies have been devised to realize
these goals.
Children's welfare has also been a priority of
the government. Bangladesh was one of the first signatories to the UN
charter on children's rights. Vigorous efforts are being undertaken by
the government at national, regional and International levels to promote
health, nutrition, education and socio-cultural interests of children
Bangladesh Shishu (Children's) Academy with a countrywide network is
engaged in 50cm-cultural programs for children. A 25-member National
Children's Council has been reconstituted by the government for
children's development and protection of children's rights. A national
action plan is also being drawn up for children's development.
•Youth Development
The youths are potentially the most productive force in Bangladesh.
They constitute 36% of the total civilian labors force. Recognizing the
fact that a disciplined and, organized, trained and educated youth
community can make significant contribution to the development process,
the government has taken up various programs for their socio- economic
uplift. The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Department of Youth
Development are entrusted with the responsibility of providing unified
direction and coordination to the youth development process.
The major programs of the government for youth development include:-
rural youth development, skill development training, sell-employment
program and community development program. The youth development program
is now being expanded through increased training and credit facilities.
Bangladesh Economy: Quick look
Bangladesh is an
agricultural country. With some three-fifths of the population engaged
in farming. Jute and tea are principal sources of foreign exchange.
Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods,
inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a
rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture,
delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power
supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Economic reform
is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at
all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition
from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest
groups. The newly-elected BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda
ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but
the party's level of political will to do so remains undetermined.
For higher GDP growth, investments in both public and private sectors
will need to be accelerated. The prevailing political and economic
stability has greatly encouraged investment in the private sector. The
trend of foreign direct investment is very encouraging.
The
government is committed to market economy and has been pursuing policies
for supporting and encouraging private investment and eliminating
unproductive expenditures in the public sector. A number of measures
have been taken to strengthen the planning system and intensify reforms
in the financial sector. The present government believe that wastage of
resources is a far greater obstacle to development than inadequacy of
resources.
It is common knowledge that many development
efforts in the past years turned into exercises in futility because of
inefficiency and corruption in high places. Terrorism was allowed to
paralyse law and order. Administration was over centralized at the cost
of local government institutions. The government has, therefore, decided
to decentralize administration in the quickest possible time.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $230 billion (2001 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 5.6% (2001 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,750 (2001 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 30%.
industry: 18%.
services: 52% (2000).
Population below poverty line: 35.6% (1995-96 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.9%.
highest 10%: 28.6% (1996).
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (2000)
Labor force: 64.1 million (1998).
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman,
Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in
1998-99.
Labor force-by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 25%, industry and mining 10% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 35.2% (1996).
Budget:
revenues: $4.9 billion
expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000).
Industries: jute manufacturing, cotton textiles, garments, tea
processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical, light engineering, sugar,
food processing, steel, fertilizer.
Industrial production growth rate: 6.2% (2001)
Electricity-production: 13.493 billion kWh (2000).
Electricity-production by source:
fossil fuel: 92.45%
hydro: 7.55%
nuclear: 0%.
Other: 0% (2000).
Electricity-consumption: 12.548 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity-exports: 0 kWh (2000).
Electricity-imports: 0 kWh (2000).
Agriculture-products: rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes,
tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry.
Exports: $6.6 billion (2001)
Exports-commodities: garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood.
Exports-partners: US 31.8%, Germany 10.9%, UK 7.9%, France 5.2%, Netherlands 5.2%,
Italy 4.42% (2000).
Imports: $8.7 billion (2001)
Imports-commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and
steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products,
cement.
Imports-partners: India 10.5%, EU 9.5%, Japan 9.5%, Singapore 8.5%, China 7.4% (2000)
Economic aid-recipient: $1.575 billion (2000 est.)
Currency: 1 taka (Tk) = 100 poisha.
Exchange rates: Taka per US dollar - 57.756 (January 2002), 55.807
(2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June.
Art & Literature of Bangladesh
Bangladesh has a rich tradition of Art. Speciniens of ancient terracota
and pottery show remarkable artistry. Modern painting was pioneered by
artists like Zainul Ahedin, Qamrul Hasan. Anwarul Haque, Shafiuddin
Ahnied, Shafiqul Amin, Rashid Chowdhury and S.M. Sultan. Zainul Ahedin
earned worldwide fame by his stunning sketches of the Bengal Famine in
1943.
Other famous artists of Bangladesh are Abdur Razzak,
Qayyum Chowdhury, Murtaza Baseer, Aminul Islam, Debdas Chakraborty, Kazi
Abdul Baset, Syed Jahangir, and Mohammad Kibria
The earliest
available specimen of Bengali literature is about a thousand years old.
During the mediaeval period. Bengali Literature developed considerably
with the patronage of Muslim rulers. Chandi Das, Daulat Kazi and Alaol
are some of the famous poets of the period. The era of modern Bengali
Literature began in the late nineteenth century Rabindranath Tagore, the
Nobel Laureate is a vital part of Bangalee culture. Kazi Nazrul Islam,
Michael Madhusudan Datta. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya, Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhaya, Mir Mosharraf Hossain and Kazi Ahdul Wadud are the
pioneers of modern Bengali Literature.
Geography of Bangladesh : Quick look
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.
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin.
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm.
territorial sea: 12 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.
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 flooded during the summer monsoon season.
Environment-current issues: many people are landless and forced to live
on and cultivate flood-prone land; limited access to potable water;
water-borne diseases prevalent; water pollution especially of fishing
areas results from the use of commercial pesticides; intermittent water
shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central
parts of the country; soil degradation; 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
Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: Only a small portion of the boundary with India
remains undelimited; discussions to demarcate the boundary, exchange 162
miniscule enclaves, and allocate divided villages remain stalled;
skirmishes, illegal border trafficking, and violence along the border
continue; Bangladesh has protested India's attempts to fence off high
traffic sections of the porous boundary; Burmese attempts to construct a
dam on the border stream in 2001 prompted an armed response halting
construction; Burmese Muslim refugees migrate into Bangladesh straining
meager resources.
Government of Bangladesh [Quick Look]
Country Name:
conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh.
conventional short form: Bangladesh.
Data code: BG.
Government type: Republic.
Capital: Dhaka.
Administrative divisions: 6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi & Sylhet.
Independence: 26 March 1971 (from Pakistan).
National holiday: Independence Day - 26 March (1971), 16 December 1971
is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of
Bangladesh, 21st February and more.
Constitution: 4 November
1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March
1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times.
Legal system: based on English common law.
Executive branch:
Chief of state: President Prof. Iazuddin Ahmad; note - the president's
duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the
constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role
becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a
caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to
supervise the elections
head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001).
cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president.
elections: President elected by National Parliament for a five-year
term; election last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held by NA October
2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that
wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the
president.
election results: Prof. Iazuddin Ahmad elected president without opposition.
Legislative branch: Unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad;
300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies
(the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and
above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members
serve five-year terms.
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held before October 2006).
election results: Percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners
46%, AL 42%; seats by party - BNP 201, AL 62, JI 18, JP (Ershad faction)
14, IOJ 2, JP (Naziur) 1, other 4; note - the election of October 2001
brought a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller
parties - Jamaat-i-Islami, Islami Oikya Jote, and Jatiya Party (Naziur).
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, the Chief Justices and other judges are appointed by the president.
Political parties: Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP; Awami League or
AL; Jatiyo Party or JP; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI; Bangladesh Communist
Party or BCP.
International organization participation: ADB, C,
CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUA, NAM, OIC, OPCW,
SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT,
UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO.
Flag description: green with a large red disk slightly to
the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood
shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush
countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam.
People & Population of Bangladesh : The Racial Mix
The country's population is almost evenly distributed throughout its 64
districts except for the three Hill Tracts districts which are rather
sparsely inhabited. Regionally, the eastern districts have a slightly
higher density than the western ones. On average, a district has a
population of about 1.8 million, a thana 230,000, a union 25,000 and a
village 2,000. There are 490 thanas, 4,451 unions and 59,990 villages.
The number of households is about 20 million. On average, a household
consists of 5.6 persons. The tribal people, who lead a simple life, are
generally self-reliant, producing their own food and drinks and weaving
their own clothes.
There are 4 metropolitan cities and 119
municipalities in the country. The level of urbanization is low at 20%.
This leaves 80% of the country's total population of about 120 million
to live in the rural areas which primarily depend on a poorly developed
agriculture for livelihood. The capital city of Dhaka has an estimated
population of 8.58 million. The annual growth rate of the population has
come down to 1.75% with the acceptance of family planning practices
rising to 48.7%. The crude birth rate per 1000 is 25.6 and the death
rate is 8.1. Life expectancy at birth is 59.5 years. The rate of child
mortality per 1000 has come down to 76.8 and that of maternal mortality
to 4.5. About 96.3% families in the country have now access to safe
drinking water. The sex ratio is 106 males for every 100 females. The
density of population per square kilometre is 800.
Some 44.3%
of the people are literate with about 5 million having passed secondary
school level and another 1.27 million being graduates. The primary
school enrollment rate has risen to 86% and the rate for secondary
school enrollment to 33%. To intensify promotion of compulsory primary
education, the food-for education programme has been extended to over
16,000 schools. More and more primary schools will be brought under this
programme.
Bangladesh : The Parliament
The
Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad has 330 seats. Three hundred members are
directly elected while 30 seats are reserved for women who are elected
by the, MPs. The tenure of the Parliament is five years.
The
Parliament is a sovereign body with a separate secretariat. The Speaker,
along with the Deputy Speaker, Whips and panel of Chairmen run the
sessions of Parliament.
In the present seventh parliament,
Bangladesh Awami League commands absolute majority. Bangladesh
Nationalist Party and the Jatiya Party are the other two major political
parties with significant representations in the Parliament. There are
Parliamentary Standing Committees for different ministries, which serve
as parliamentary watchdogs over the activities of the Government.
Bangladesh : Land, Resources & Natural Regions
Most of Bangladesh lies within the broad delta formed by the Ganges and
Brahmaputra rivers and is exceedingly flat, low-lying, and subject to
annual flooding. Much fertile, alluvial soil is deposited by the
floodwaters. The only significant area of hilly terrain, constituting
less than one-tenth of the nation's territory, is the Chittagong Hill
Tracts District in the narrow southeastern panhandle of the country.
There, on the border with Myanmar, is Mowdok Mual (1,003 m/3,291 ft),
the country's highest peak. Small, scattered hills lie along or near the
eastern and northern borders with India. The eroded remnants of two old
alluvial terraces-the Madhupur Tract, in the north central part of the
country, and The Barind, straddling the northwestern boundary with
India-attain elevations of about 30 m (about 100 ft). The soil here is
much less fertile than the annually replenished alluvium of the
surrounding floodplain.
Land
Total area: 144,000 square kilometers;
Land area: 133,910 square kilometers
Land boundaries: 4,246 km total; 193 km with Myanmar, 4,053 km with India,
Coastline: 580 km.
Land distribution:
• arable land 67%
• forest and woodland 16%
• permanent crops 2%
• meadows and pastures 4%
• others 11%
