PS 104 (Section) Research Paper Examples

Country Profile: Bangladesh

General Indicators.
Capital: Dhaka, 15.391 million (2011)

Area: 55,598 Square Miles (143,998 km2)

Population: 166.3 million (2014)
Population Growth Rate: 1.6% (2014)
Population Density (people per sq. km of land area): 1,033.5 (2013)

Economic Indicators.

GDP (PPP): $324.6 billion (2013)
Per Capita GDP (PPP): $2,000 (2013)
Distribution of GDP: Agriculture 17.2%, Industry 28.9%, Service 53.9% (2013)
Urban Population: 28.4% (2010)
Population below poverty line: 31.5% (2010)
Labour force participation rate (Rate of female to male shares): 0.681 (2012)
Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Ranking (and score): 169 (25.61) (2014)
Debt level: $30.69 billion (2013)

Analysis section:

Per Capita GDP is an indicator that represents gross domestic product divided per midyear population of the country. In our analysis we use GDP PPP that means that it is calculated on the basis of the set of goods and services that can be bought in a particular country. Higher Per Capita GDP demonstrates better standards of living for the population. In Bangladesh Per Capita GDP (PPP) is higher than Per Capita GDP (nominal) which means that the prices in the country are pretty low. The Bengali can buy more than citizens of the U.S. for the same amount of money. In long term perspective it can have positive implications for the economy and development. However, in Bangladesh both indicators (PPP and nominal) are low compared to the developed countries. The cause of this state of affairs may be the poor performance of economy. One third of population lives below poverty line while some people are quite rich. This invokes the problem of social inequality.

Social Indicators.

Human Development Index (HDI) Ranking (and value): 142 (0.558) (2013)
Gender Inequality Index (GII) Value: 0.529 (2013)
Infant Mortality Rate: 45.67/1000 (2014)
Life Expectancy: 70.65 years (Male, 68.75 years; Female, 72.63 years) (2014)
Literacy: 57.7% (62% Male and 53.4% Female) (2011)
Religions: Muslim 89.5%, Hindu 9.6% and other 0.9% (2004)

Languages spoken: Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English

Analysis section:
Infant Mortality rate measures the number of death of infants under 1 year old per 1000 of live births in the same year. In Bangladesh we see awful situation when 45 babies out of 1000 die before reaching 1 year of age. In future it can lead to great distortions in population structure because old population will outweigh the youth. There are lots of factors that imply this indicator such as social and economic issues. If people do not get enough amount of food and water or if they live in awful hygiene conditions, this rate increases. Moreover, such factors as health care and urbanization also play key role in infant survival. This rate is used as an indicator of health; the situation in Bangladesh is not promising.

Political Indicators.

Freedom House Rating (Freedom in the World Report): Partly Free; Political Rights - 3, Civil Liberties – 4. (2014)
Corruption Perception Index (CPI) Ranking (and score): 145 (25) (2014)
Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders) Ranking (and index score): 146 (42.58) (2014)
Shares in Parliament, female-male ratio: 0.246 (2012)

System Type: Parliamentary Democracy

Constitution: previous 1935, 1956, 1962 (pre-independence); latest enacted 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended March 1982, restored November 1986; amended many times, last in 2011 (2011).

Administration: Unitary.

Executive: The real power belongs to the Head of Government. The Head of State is elected by the Parliament. The president may administer the country through the Council of Ministers. It is called the cabinet and headed by the prime minister, a presidential appointee. Cabinet is selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president. Up to one-fifth of the members of the cabinet may be persons from outside Parliament to allow experts to participate in the country’s administration. The number of ministers varies and depends on the Prime Minister.
Legislature: Unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad. It consists of 300 seats (45 reserved for women). Its members must be at least twenty-five years old and are elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies. Members serve five-year terms. The president calls Parliament into session. The assembly elects a speaker and a deputy speaker, who chair parliamentary activities. Parliament also appoints a standing committee, a special committee, a secretariat, and an ombudsman.
Party Structure: Multi-Party. There are about a hundred of parties in Bangladesh. Only a few major parties are active. Awami League is center-left and led by the Prime Minister. Jatiya Party is ruled by Hussain Ershad and now leans toward the same ideologies as AL. Bangladesh Nationalist Party occupied the majority in the Parliament before the latest elections and AL was in opposition. According to latest elections results, Awami League-led Alliance gained 77% , Jatiya Party - 33%; seats by party: Awami League - 235, Jatiya Party - 34, other – 28.
Judiciary: Supreme Court of Bangladesh (organized into the Appellate Division with 7 justices and the High Court Division with 99 justices) is the highest court of Bangladesh. Chief justice and justices are appointed by the president; justices serve until retirement at age 67. There are a number of subordinate courts such as civil courts that include: Assistant Judge's Court; Joint District Judge's Court; Additional District Judge's Court; District Judge's Court; criminal courts that include: Court of Sessions; Court of Metropolitan Sessions; and special courts/tribunals: Metropolitan Magistrate Courts; Magistrate Court.

Head of State: President Abdul Hamid (since 24 April 2013)

Head of Government: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (since 6 January 2009, reelected 5 January 2014)
Analysis section:
Corruption Perception index indicates how corrupt the public sector of every country is. This rate represents a message to governments that they should improve transparency in their economies. Bangladesh ranks among the last counties in the list. It occupies 142 occupies position but has demonstrated slight improvement (in 2012 it was 143th). In short and long perspective such dramatic situation will continue to hamper economic development and may lead to more drastic decline. Those who lead the country make excessive use of their powers that is the key reason for such a low rate. I think that quick reforms that aim at dealing with corruptions and shadow economy may stimulate economic growth and prospering of this country. This, in turn, will make people’s lives better.

Conclusion.

In my opinion, Bangladesh needs reforms. Its levels of economic, social and political development are very low. This is agricultural economy with many problems in each sphere of governance. For it to prosper, the authorities need to take prompt and decisive actions that will be aimed at creating more competitive state.

References.

“Bangladesh.” The World Bank. 2014.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/bangladesh
“Bangladesh.” Transparency International. 2014.
http://www.transparency.org/country#BGD
“Bangladesh. The World Factbook.” The Central Intelligence Agency. 23 June 2014.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html
“Freedom in the World.” Freedom House. 2014.
https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FIW2014%20Booklet.pdf
“Human Development Report.” United Nations Development Programme. 2014.
http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/BGD.pdf