The Bangladeshi capital Dhaka is a bustling city, with a population of 12 million [GALLO/GETTY]

This drew European companies to establish trading outposts there, and it became the first province to come under the rule of the British East India Company.

However, modern-day Bangladesh does not enjoy the economic prosperity of the Middle Ages.

According to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, nearly 40 per cent of the population live on less than $1 a day and spend 70 per cent of their income on food.

About a third of the country floods annually during the monsoon season, hampering economic development.

Rampant corruption is considered by many international agencies to be the greatest threat facing Bangladesh's economic recovery.

Various surveys have consistently rated it as the most corrupt nation. This, and the lack of basic infrastructure like clean drinking water and access to health care and education add to the woes of its people.

In the 1990s, the government launched an ambitious plan to drastically lower the poverty level. It has set in motion policies which led to annual economic growth of nearly five per cent since 1990.

Since 1980, average household incomes have nearly doubled.

The government says it hopes to halve poverty levels by 2015.

History

Part of British India until the end of colonial rule in 1947, the land now known as Bangladesh emerged as East Pakistan, a wing of Pakistan seperated by miles of Indian territory.

However, Islamabad refused to recognise the Awami League's victory. That forced Sheikh Mujibur  to lead an uprising to break away from West Pakistan and declare independence.

The Pakistani army responded by cracking down on Awami League leaders and waged a brutal war in which thousands were killed. Sheikh Mujibur was arrested and jailed in West Pakistan. Nearly 10mn Bengali refugees fled to neighbouring India, forcing it to intervene and back Bengali nationalists.

On December 16, 1971, Bangladesh declared independence and became a parliamentary democracy with Sheikh Mujibur as its first president and then prime minister. 

Military coups

Sheikh Mujibur and most of his family were assassinated on August 15, 1975. The murders led to a series of bloody coups and counter-coups with General Ziaur Rahman finally emerging as the ruler.

He reinstated multi-party politics and founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), but was himself assassinated in 1981 in another military coup.

General Hossain Mohammad Ershad then came to power and ruled until December 1990, when he was forced to resign by opposition groups led by Begum Khaleda Zia, Ziaur Rahman's widow,  and Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's daughter and the only family member who escaped the 1975 assassination attempt. 

Since then Khaleda and Hasina held power alternately for 15 years until 2006.

A state of emergency was declared following pre-election violence in 2007, prompting the military to intervene and appoint a caretaker government.

General elections were held in December 2008 and the Awami League, headed by Hasina, won 262 of the 299 seats in parliament.

Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as prime minister in January 2009.

Quick facts

Population - 153 million (July 2008 estimate). Nearly 33 per cent of the population is under the age of 14; population growth stands at two per cent a year.

Ethnicity - Bengalis comprise 98 per cent and the remaining two per cent include tribal groups and non-Bengali Muslims.

Religion - 87 per cent of the population are Muslim; 11 per cent Hindu; 0.6 per cent Buddhist; 0.3 per cent Christian and 1.1 per cent ethnic minorities.

Language - Bengali, the state language.

Capital - Dhaka - population 12 million.

Geography - 143,998 sq km, bounded by India to the west and north, India and Myanmar to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the south.

Most of Bangladesh is just above sea level and flooding occurs nearly every monsoon season from June to September.