The year 1981 was the 10th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the last year of the Government of Ziaur Rahman and the first year of the Government of President Abdus Sattar
Incumbents
President: Ziaur Rahman (until 30 May), Abdus Sattar (starting 30 May) Prime Minister: Shah Azizur Rahman Vice President: Abdus Sattar (until May); Mirza Nurul Huda (starting 24 November) Chief Justice: Kemaluddin Hossain
Demography + Demographic Indicators for Bangladesh in 1981 Population, total81,767,516 Population density (per km2)628.2 Population growth (annual %)2.6% Male to Female Ratio (every 100 Female)106.3 Urban population (% of total)15.8% Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people)42.5 Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people)14.1 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000 live births)194 Life expectancy at birth, total (years)53.4 Fertility rate, total (births per woman)6.2
Climate
Economy + Key Economic Indicators for Bangladesh in 1981 National Income Current US$ Current BDT % of GDP GDP $20.2 billion BDT330.9 billion GDP growth (annual %) 7.2% GDP per capita $247.6 BDT4,047 Agriculture, value added $6.5 billion BDT105.7 billion 32.0% Industry, value added $4.0 billion BDT65.5 billion 19.8% Services, etc., value added $9.3 billion BDT151.2 billion 45.7% Balance of Payment Current US$ Current BDT % of GDP Current account balance -$1,016.6 million -5.0% Imports of goods and services $2,898.3 million BDT46.7 billion 14.1% Exports of goods and services $1,001.6 million BDT17.0 billion 5.1% Foreign direct investment, net inflows $5.4 million 0.0% Personal remittances, received $381.1 million 1.9% Total reserves (includes gold) at year end $159.7 million Total reserves in months of imports 0.6 Note: For the year 1981 average official exchange rate for BDT was 17.99 per US$.
Events 17 May - Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned from India after more than five years exile that began after his assassination. More than one million of her supporters turned out to welcome her return, and she urged the nation to work toward restoring democracy.Encyclopaedia Of Bangladesh (Anmol Publications, 2003) p109 30 May - Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh, was assassinated as he spent the night in Chittagong. Taking place at 4:00 am local time, the attack was planned by Major General Muhammed Manzur. Lt. Col. Motiur Rahman shot and killed the pajama-clad President Ziaur. 12 June - Abdus Sattar handed the key of historical 32 Dhanmondi House to Sheikh Hasina 15 November - Abdus Sattar was confirmed as President of Bangladesh in an election suspected of being rigged. Running on the Nationalist Party ticket as one of 23 candidates, Sattar, who had been the acting president since the May 30 assassination of Ziaur Rahman, officially received 14,217,601 votes, nearly two-thirds of those cast, while runner up Kamal Hossain of the Awami League got 5,694,884."Sattar wins in Bangladesh", New London (CT) Day, 17 November 1981, p13
Awards and Recognitions
Independence Day Award Recipients Area NoteMaulana Mohammad Akram Khan journalism posthumousAbbas Uddin music posthumousMajor Abdul Ghani social work posthumousShamsunnahar Mahmud social work posthumousAbbas Mirja sports posthumousDewan Mohammad Azraf literature Waliullah patwari education Ustad Khadem Hossain Khan music
Ekushey Padak Abu Rushd Matinuddin (literature) Aminul Islam (fine arts) Abdul Halim Chowdhury (music) Mumtaz Ali Khan (music) Gauhar Jamil (dance) Mohammad Zakaria (drama) Zahur Hossain Chowdhury (journalism) Obaidul Huq (journalism) Mustafa Nurul Islam (literature)
Sports Domestic football: Abahani KC won 1981 Dhaka First Division League title. Mohammedan SC won the title of Bangladesh Federation Cup. Cricket: Marylebone Cricket Club cricket team visited Bangladesh and played a number of friendly matches with the Bangladesh team.Hasan Babli. "Antorjartik Crickete Bangladesh". Khelar Bhuban Prakashani, November 1994.
Births Enamul Hossain, chess grandmaster
Deaths 30 May: Ziaur Rahman, president (b. 1936) 15 June: Gamiruddin Pradhan, politician (b. 1918) 24 June: Abdul Matin Chowdhury, academic (b. 1921) 2 August: Syed A. B. Mahmud Hossain, jurist (b. 1916) 7 August: Mahbubul Alam, author (b. 1898) 9 October: Qazi Motahar Hossain, author (b. 1897)
See also 1980s in Bangladesh List of Bangladeshi films of 1981 Timeline of Bangladeshi history
References