Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan in 1971. From 1947 (when Pakistan and current India were 'created') until 1971 the area was known as East Pakistan. The country (mainly Muslims) found itself under the government rule dominated by West Pakistan (the current Pakistan). On 26 March 1971, following a bloody crackdown by the Pakistan army, Bengali nationalists declared an independent People's Republic of Bangladesh. On 16 December 1971 Pakistani forces surrendered, and Bangladesh ('Bengal nation') was born.
The country is poor, densely populated and regularly flooded. A country of giant deltas and flat lands, Bangladesh is at the receiving end of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers where they pour into the Bay of Bengal. Fifty-four rivers flow into the country making it the largest deltaic region in the world. The disastrous river floods of 1987 and 1988 inundated 40 and 60% of the country, respectively.
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