Premier Wen Jiabao starts an official visit on Thursday to Bangladesh, the second leg of his four-nation South Asia tour.
Following are some basic facts about Bangladesh.
Location: a South Asian country with Myanmar to the southeast, India to the north, west and east.
Area: 143,998 square km.
Climate: rainy and generally hot, with an average annual temperature of 26.5oC.
Population: 131 million.
Capital: Dhaka, with a population of about 10 million.
Language: Bengali is the national language and English is extensively used.
Religion: Islam embraces over 86.6 percent of the population, with the remainder being mainly Hindus.
Politics: the president is the head of state. The National Assembly of Bangladesh, or Jatiya Sangsad, is the legislative body.
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2005)
