About Ria's Country

Bangladesh is a small Asian country in the shadow of India. Mostly flat, the country sits on the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean. Bangladesh consists mostly of a low-lying river delta with a largely read more...marshy jungle coastline on the Bay of Bengal. The country usually has a mild tropical winter, a hot, humid summer and a warm, rainy monsoon from June to October. People in this extremely poor country are often landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land. Nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in agriculture where rice is the single most important product. About 83 percent are Muslims, but Hindus constitute a 16 percent minority. Christians make up less than 1 percent of the population. Bengali is the official national language, but English is generally spoken in urban areas and used in higher education and government. Compassion works with children throughout the country. Like India and many of its other neighbors, the area that is now Bangladesh came under British rule in the 18th century. A mounting clash between Muslims and Hindus lead to a battle that eventually created a deep chasm in Britain's empire. In 1947, British rule ended with the creation of Hindu-dominated India and Muslim-dominated East and West Pakistan. But a civil war over language and commerce between West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan) and East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) ensued from 1952 to 1971, when Pakistani forces surrendered and Bangladesh was established and became a parliamentary democracy under a constitution. Iajuddin Ahmed has been president since 2002.