Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a South Asian country on the Bay of Bengal, built mostly on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. India surrounds it on three sides, and Myanmar lies to the southeast.

Dhaka is the capital and Chittagong the main port; Bengali is the main language, and the name Bangladesh means country of Bengal. Mahasthangarh holds remains from the 3rd century BC, and the Buddhist Pala Empire ruled the region from 750 to 1150. Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah founded the independent Bengal Sultanate in 1341, and after the Mughal conquest of 1576 Bengal became a rich province known for muslin, silk and shipbuilding. The Nawabs of Bengal ruled with growing autonomy from 1717, before nearly two centuries of British rule.

In 1947 the eastern part of Bengal became East Pakistan. The language movement of 1952 is honored every 21 February, which UNESCO named International Mother Language Day in 1999. Independence was declared on 26 March 1971 and won on 16 December 1971, and the constitution was enacted on 4 November 1972. Bangladesh is a unitary parliamentary republic on the Westminster model, divided into eight divisions and 64 districts. It covers 148,461 km2 (57,321 sq mi), and Saka Haphong near the Myanmar border is its highest point at 1,064 m (3,491 ft).

Garments for fashion brands lead its exports, and the country also produces jute, rice, fish, tea and flowers, with firms such as BEXIMCO, Grameenphone and Square Pharmaceuticals. Most of the Sundarbans, a vast mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger, lies in its southwest, and a historic mosque city and a Buddhist vihara are its other World Heritage Sites. Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian Nobel laureate in literature, and Kazi Nazrul Islam shaped Bengali writing. Kabaddi is the national sport, while cricket draws the biggest crowds.