The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is a Parliamentary Democracy located in South Asia. Historically an important part of the Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh came into existence as an independent nation in 1971 after seceding from Pakistan. Besides bordering India along majority of her outlined boundary, Bangladesh also shares a short portion of her international border with Myanmar to the south east and the Bay of Bengal lies to her south. With land area comparable to that of the US state of Alabama, Bangladesh is home to around 165 million people, making her one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Bengali or Bangla is the official language and Islam, practiced by majority of the inhabitants, is the official religion of the state. Bangladesh is rich in biodiversity and natural beauty as well. Most of Bangladesh is fertile deltaic plains formed by the rivers Padma, Jamuna, Meghna and their tributaries. Much of the Sundarbans i.e. the largest mangrove forest in the world, lies within her territory towards the south west. The endangered Royal Bengal Tiger, the official animal of the state, infrequently spotted in the wild is a tourist attraction. Bangladesh also boasts of the longest continuous natural sea beach of Cox’s Bazar that attracts tourists all year around. Bangladesh follows a decimalized currency format. The Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) is the base currency unit sub-divided into 100 sub units knows as the Poisha.
See also: India - British