The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is an extremely poor country in southern Asia that is almost completely surrounded by India. According to international standards, the country is poorly governed. It also has a reputation as being plagued with corruption. If you are planning to visit or to do business in the country, you should also consider that the United States (US) State Department says “although improving, infrastructure to support transportation, communications, and power supply is poorly developed.”
Bangladesh is a low-lying country, whose capital is named Dhaka. In addition to India, the country shares a small border area with Myanmar. Most people who fly directly to Bangladesh enter the country at Shahjalal International Airport, which is in Dhaka. If you are planning to visit, you may want to consider flying to India and crossing the border with land transportation, which is generally cheaper. It is also possible to cross the border from Myanmar using land transportation if you will be visiting that country first.
There are several other things that you may need to consider if you plan to visit or engage in business in Bangladesh. This overcrowded country is populated mostly by Muslims. Bangla is the official language, but only about half of the adult population is literate. Bangladeshi money is called taka. The country’s time zone is UTC (coordinated universal time) +6.
There are numerous environmental problems in Bangladesh. One that you may want to plan for is the condition of the water. Much of the country’s surface water and ground water is contaminated and polluted. As a result, there is a high risk that consumption or contact can result in illnesses such as hepatitis A and E, protozoal diarrhea, and leptospirosis. Other disease risks include typhoid fever and malaria.
If you plan to visit the northern or southern parts of the country, you may have problems accessing the amount of water that you are accustomed to. This is because water shortages are common in these areas. You may also have problems accessing landlines. Most telephone communication in the country is done with cellular phones. The Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook describes the telephone systems as “inadequate for a modern country.”
Weather is another thing to consider. Nearly one third of the country floods every year. These floods are commonly caused by the summer monsoon. Cyclones and other troublesome natural events also occur periodically. In addition to this, high humidity is common.