Way of life. Most Bangladeshis farm the land with simple tools and ancient methods, much as their ancerstors did many years ago. Since the mid-1970's, however, there has been increasing use of fertilizers and new kinds of seeds. About 70 per cent of all adult Bangladeshis cannot read and write.

About 82 percent of the people of Bahaladesh live in rural areas. Clusters of Thatch-roofed houses dot the nation's countryside. Most rural villagers buisd homes made of bamboo. A typical home consists of only one or two rooms. Few homes in rural areas have electricity or plumbing.

Most of the families in the cities and towns live crowded together in small wooden houses. Some wealthy city families have large brick or concrete homes. In urban slums, the houses. are builts of cardboard, scraps of wood, or sticks. Most Hindus and members of other minority groups live together in distinct neighborhoods.

Many of the people of Bangladesh do not have enough food to eat. Although food prouduct has inereased since the mid-1970's, the nation neither raises nor imports enough to feed its large population. Few Bangladeshis have much variety in their meals. Rice and fish are the tow most important foods. They are usually served together in a spicy curry sauce. Tea sweetened with sugar is a popular beverage, though some people may drink only water most of the time.

People throughout Bangladesh war loose, lightweight clothing because of the warm, humid climate. Most of the women wear a siri, a long piece of plain or printed cloth wraped around the waist and draped over one shoulder. A shiort blouse in worn undermeath. Many Muslim men wear a lungi, a tight skirtlike garment. The dhoti, worn by Hindu men, is a piece of cloth, wrapped around the waist and between the legs. Men may also wear shirts. people of rural areas generally go berefoot. City dwellers may wear shoes or sandals.

Banaladeshis like to spend their leisure time chatting with friends and relatives. The men usually gether in cafes, and the women visit one another at home. The people enjoy the festivities held during various Muslim and Hundu religious holidays.

Religion affects much in the lives of most Bangladeshis, including food, marriage customs, and family relationships. About 90 per cent of the people are Muslims. The laws of Islam, the Muslim religion, forbid the eating of pork, Most Muslim parents arrange mariages for their children. Most Muslims men in Bangladesh are too poor. The men in a Muslim family have far more authority and freedom than the women have. Many Muslim women avoid social contact with men who do not belong to their family, and they participate in few activisties outside the home. They cover their heads with vails in the presence of strangers. In 1988, a constitutional amendment made Islam the state religion of Bangladesh.

Less than 10 per cent of the people of Bangladesh are Hindus. Hindus are divided into various social classes called CASTES. Each caste observes its own customs and rules of behabior. Caste regulations limit the extent to which members of one caste may associate with members of another cast. Hindu parents also arrange their Children's marriages. Intermarriage between castes in rare. Hindu women have few legal rights.

Most of the ethnic groups of the Chittagong Hills area practice Buddhism. Some groups combine Buddhist principles with local religious beliefs. less than 1 per cent of the people of Bangladesh are Christians.

Education. About 30 per cent of all Bangladeshis 15 years of age of alder can read and write. No law requires children to go to school since 1992, and less than half the youngsters of school age do so. bangladesh has about 31,700 elementary and high schools and about 300 colleges and technical schools.

The University of Dhaka is the nation's largest university. Dhaka is also the home of the Jahangirnagar University and Bangladesh Univrsity of Engineering and Technology. Other universities are in Chittagong, Mymensing ( Agricultural University), Khulna(Shahjalal Science and Technology University), Rajshahi and Sylhat.

Health. food shortages and unsanitary living conditions in Bangladesh contribute to widespread cholera, leprosy, tuberculosis and other diseases. Mosquitoes that spread malaria thrive in the nation's swampy regions. Malaria kills thousands of bangladeshis annually.

Bangladesh has a serious shortage of doctors, nurses, hospitals, and medical supplies. The Red Cross and other organizations have sent medical teams and equipment in an attempt to improve health conditions.

The arts. Bangala literature has flourished for thousands of years in the form of stories and folk ballads. These stories and ballads tell romantic legends and tales of everyday life. Dramas based on religious stories are popular forms of entertainment in Bangladesh. Kazi Nazrul Islam is the national poet born in Bangladesh and died there too. Rabindranath Tagore nobel prize winner, a Bangla poet born in India but spent the most time except the moment of birth and death., became prominent in Bangla literature during the late 1800's. He still ranks as popular literary figure in Bangladesh.

Much of the traditional architecture of Bangladesh developed under Muslim rule during the 1500's and 16's. This style features domes, towers and pointed arches. Traditional painting has the brilliant colors and elaborate decorations of Muslim religious art. Some contemporary artists of Bangladesh use techniques of modern Western art in painting everyday scencenes and people, as well as in abstract designs.

Almost all of Bangladesh consists of a flat, low-lying alluvial plain (land formed from soil deposited by rivers). Most of the country lies less than 50 feet (15 meters) above sea level. The far northeast and southeast corners of Bangladesh have many hills. Mount Keokradong, the country's highest peak, rises 4,034 feet (1,230 meters) above sea level in the Chittagong Hills area in the south east.

Rivers and streams. Three major rivers-the Brahmaputra, the Ganges, and the Meghna-flow through the flat plains the ocver most of Bangladesh. These rivers and their branches overflow during the rainy season and depositsthat have built up at the mouths of the rivers form the broad Ganges Delta. rice and jute, the most important crops of Bangladesh, Thrive in the wet delta rigion.

Many small streams and canals also crisscross the country. Boats can reach almost every part of the Bangladesh interior.

Costline of Bangladesh extends 357 miles (575 kilometers) along the Bay of Bengal. Deep inlets mark the jagged coastline of the country and small islands dot the offshore delta area.

Forests. Bamboo and such trees as mango, palm and tamarind grow throughout most of Bangladesh. But the most valuable forest resources are in the Chittagong Hills in southeastern Bangladesh and in the Sundarbans in the southwest. Teak is an important product of the Chittagong Hills forests. The Sundarbans is a swampy fegion covered by mangrove trees and other tropical plants. Bengal tigers live in the area.

Climate

Bangladesh is generally warm and humid throughout the year. The temperature viries little from one part of the country to another, though the north may be slightly cooler than the south in winter. Temperatures in Bangladesh average about 82'F(28'C) in april, the hottest month in most parts of the country. January, thecoldest month in Bangladesh, ahs an average temperature of 64'f.(18'C0.

Bangladesh receives ample rain. The eastern part of the country has an average annual rainfall of about 100 inches(150 centimeters) and the west has an average of about 65 inches (165 centimeters). The far northeastern region gets the most rain-as much as 250 inches (635 centimeters) a year. In most years, the rainy season in Bangladesh lasts from mid-March to the end of Otovr. Afternoon thunderstorms occur frequently from mid-March to mid-May. The heaviest rain comes during the monsoon season, from mid-May to October. Many of the monsoon rains cause the river to overflow and flood the surrounding countryside.

Cyclones often stike Bangladesh at the end of the monsoon season. These violent storms may be acocompanied by huge tidal waves that rise from the Bay of Bangel and sweep across the low-laying countryside. Some of the most secvere cyclones and tidal waves have destroyed towns and villages and killed thousands of people.

Bangladesh ranks as one of the poorest nations of the world. It has an average annual per capita (per person) income of about $150 a year.

the economy of Bangladesh is underdeveloped and depends almost entire on agriculture. The country has few natural resources, and it lacks the equipment and skilled labor necessary to develop heavy industries. The civil war of 1971 caused a serious breakdown of the economy. Farming activities were interrrupted as millions of people fled their home to escape the fighting. Factories and shops were destroyed, and transportation and communication lines were damaged.

Shortly after Bangladesh became independent, the government took control of the chief businesses and industries. Many of these establishments had been owned by West Pakistanis before the civil was.

Natural resources. Fertile soil is probably the chief natural resource of Bangladesh. Farmers in almost all parts of the country grow jute, rice, sugar can, to bacco, and wheat in the rice, wet soil.

Much natural gas and some petroleum have been discovered in Bangladesh. The country also has small deposits of coal, limestone, and peat.

Agriculture is by far the most important economic activity in Bangladesh. About 80 per cent of the people farm the land. Even so, Bangladesh does not produce enough food for its large population. One main reason is that most farmers in Bangladesh use outdated tools and methods. The nation's farms cover and average of only about 3 1/2 acres (1.4 hactares).

Rice, the chief corp, grows in almost all parts of Bangladesh. Farmer harvest three corps of rice in most years. Bangladesh ranks among the leading rice-growing countries. Jute, a plant whose fibers are made into string or woven into cloth, is the chief export corp. Bangladesh produces more jute that any other country in the world. Wheat is also an important corp in Bangladesh. Farmers also grow sugar cane, tea and tobacco.

many farmers in Bangladesh riese liverstock. Most of the animals are undernourished, and the cattle do not produce much milk. But the large number of livestock make bangladesh a leading supplier of animal hides and skins.

Manufacturing. Bangladesh has few large factories, and most of them process agricultural products. The nation is too poor to import the large quantities of raw materials meeded for heavy industires.

The processing of jute ranks as the chief industry of Bangladesh. Factories spin the raw jute fiber into string and rope, which then may be wovaen into burlap or other materials. Bangladesh also manufactures leather matches, paper and paper products, and textiles.

Many Bangladeshis work in their homes making items that aor esold in shops or exported. Some craftworkers weave cotton, jute or silk into cloth. Othersmake embroidered items; leather goods; pottery; woodenware; and articles of brass, copper, gold, or silver.

Fishing industry. Fish thrive in the many inland waterways of Bangladesh and in the coastal waters of the Bay of Bengal. the people catch large quantities of fish for their own use and for export.

Foreign trade. Jute is the main export of Bangladesh The country also export fish, leather and tea. Leading imports include building materials, chemicals, coal, electric appliances, food and food products, machinery electric appliance , petroleum, textiles, and transoprtation equipment.

Transportation. Waterways serve as the chief transportation routes in Bangladesh. The country has about 4,500 miles (7,240 kilometers) of navigable waterways. passenger and cargo ships make regular trips on the major rivers between the largest cities and towns. The people also use canoes and small wooden boats for transportation. chittagong is the nation's chief seaport. Major river ports include Barisal, Chilna Port, Chandpur , Dhaka and Narayanganj.

Roadbuilding is difficult and expensive in Bangladesh bacause of the need for bridges across numerous rivers and streams. Many of the countrys roads and railroads become unusable during the monsoon season, when heavy flooding occurs. bangladesh has about 3,600 miles(5,790 kilometers) of paved roads and about 1,800 miles(2,900 kilometers) of railroad track. Zia International Airport ( Biman Bangladesh Airlines) handles flights to and from Dhaka and few domestic airport in Chittagong, Cox-s-Bazar, Jashore, Barishal, Sylhal, Rajshahi.

Communication. Bangladesh has many Bangla and English -language newspapers. The government owns the nation's radio stations and television stations which cover the whole country and the telegraph and telephone systems. Few homes in rural areas have telephones or TV. Villagers may gather in cafes or other public places to watch TV. But radio is abailable in every where.