The year 2016 was the 45th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the third year of the third term of the Government of Sheikh Hasina.

Incumbents

President: Mohammad Abdul Hamid Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina Chief Justice: Surendra Kumar Sinha

Demography + Demographic Indicators for Bangladesh in 2016 Population, total157,977,151 Population density (per km2)1213.6 Population growth (annual %)1.1% Male to Female Ratio (every 100 Female)102.7 Urban population (% of total)35.1% Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people)18.8 Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people)5.5 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000 live births)36 Life expectancy at birth, total (years)71.8 Fertility rate, total (births per woman)2.1

Climate

Cyclone

On 21 May, Cyclone Roanu made landfall near Chittagong, Bangladesh. A storm surge up to 7 ft (2.0 m) above the astronomical tide hit the coast of Bangladesh at afternoon. The cyclone approached the land over the coast at Sandwip, Hatia, Kutubdia, Sitakundu and Feni. 30 people died when Roanu hit the country, most of them died when the cyclone's storm surge overtopped dams. Around 40,000 homesteads and business houses were damaged.

The storm disrupted electricity supply and road communications in the areas. Food storage, seasonal crops were damaged. Livestock, including fish and shrimp firms were swept away. Damage in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar were about ৳250 crore (US$31.8 million).

Economy + Key Economic Indicators for Bangladesh in 2016 National Income Current US$ Current BDT % of GDP GDP $221.4 billion BDT17.3 trillion GDP growth (annual %) 7.1% GDP per capita $1,401.6 BDT109,691 Agriculture, value added $31.1 billion BDT2.4 trillion 14.0% Industry, value added $60.5 billion BDT4.7 trillion 27.3% Services, etc., value added $118.8 billion BDT9.3 trillion 53.7% Balance of Payment Current US$ Current BDT % of GDP Current account balance $0.9 billion .4% Imports of goods and services $48.2 billion BDT3.7 trillion 21.3% Exports of goods and services $37,662.7 million BDT2.9 trillion 16.6% Foreign direct investment, net inflows $2,332.7 million 1.1% Personal remittances, received $13,574.3 million 6.1% Total reserves (includes gold) at year end $32,283.8 million Total reserves in months of imports 7.6 Note: For the year 2016 average official exchange rate for BDT was 78.65 per US$.

Events

4 February - ‍Hackers breached into the Bangladesh Bank's system and managed to transfer $101 million to entities in the Philippines and Sri Lanka from the bank's account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 9 March - An Antonov An-26 cargo aircraft, operated by True Aviation, crashed in the Bay of Bengal, five minutes after takeoff from Cox's Bazar Airport, 20 March - Murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu sparks country wide protest. 2 April - A protest movement broke out against a Bangladeshi-Chinese consortium's acquisition of agricultural lands, graveyards and homes to build a coal-based power plant in the Banshkhali Upazila of Chittagong. When the owners and engineers of the plant attempted to visit the construction site, protesters swooped down on the officials' motorcade. Police cracked down on the protesters, arresting seven. Angry at the arrests, local residents called for a public gathering on 4 April. 4 April - Awami League leaders called a meeting at the same place where Banshkhali power plant movement organizers were gathering. Local police invoked a Section 144 law restricting public gatherings in the area. When local residents gathered to protest, police opened fire and killed at least five people. 23 April - A. F. M. Rezaul Karim Siddique, a professor of English at Rajshahi University died in an attack suspected to have been carried out by Islamist militants. 25 April - Xulhaz Mannan, an employee of the United States embassy in Dhaka and the founder of Bangladesh's first and only LGBT-themed magazine Roopbaan was killed in his apartment along with another LGBT activist Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy in a machete attack by Islamist extremists. 11 May - Former Minister and leader of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Motiur Rahman Nizami executed by hanging at Dhaka Central Jail. 1 July - Twenty two civilians, including seventeen foreigners, and two police officers are killed, and 14 taken hostage in a terror attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan Thana in Dhaka. The attack started at about 21:40 local time and the hostage situation lasted overnight. 2 July - Members of Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Guards, Police, Combat Police, Rapid Action Battalion, SWAT and joint forces conducted the rescue operation at the Holey Artisan Bakery at 07:40 local time. Thirteen hostages were rescued. Five of the attackers were killed in a gunfight with the commandos, while the sixth was captured alive. 27 August - Alleged emir of the Islamic State (IS) in Bangladesh and mastermind of the July 2016 Dhaka attack at the Gulshan café, Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury killed in a raid on an IS safehouse in Dhaka by Bangladeshi forces. 3 September - Former director of Islami Bank, and chairman of the Diganta Media Corporation, Mir Quasem Ali hanged at Gazipur after his final appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. 1 November - Bangladesh recorded their first ever test win against England during a bilateral cricket series.

Awards and Recognitions

Independence Day Award Recipients Area Note Abul Maal Abdul Muhith Independence and Liberation War Finance minister of Bangladesh Emaz Uddin Pramanik Independence and Liberation War Textiles and Jute Minister of Bangladesh Moulavi Asmat Ali Khan Independence and Liberation War posthumousBadrul Alam Independence and Liberation War Squadron Leader, Bir Uttam, formed Bangladesh Air ForceShahid Shah Abdul Mazid Independence and Liberation War Prevented the attack on Rajshahi Police Lines by the Pakistan occupation force M Abdul Ali Independence and Liberation War posthumous; Administrator of Rangamati killed by Pakistani military force attackAKM Abdur Rouf Independence and Liberation War posthumous; typographer of the constitution KM Shehabuddin Independence and Liberation War posthumous; first diplomat to resign from Pakistani Foreign Service and pledge allegiance to Bangladesh; first head of Bangladesh's New Delhi missionSyed Hasan Imam Independence and Liberation War cultural activities during the Liberation WarRafiqul IslamMother Language posthumousAbdus Salam Mother Language Achieving recognition of 21 February as International Mother Language Day Maqsudul Alam Science and Technology Posthumous; decoded the jute genomeMohammad Rafi Khan Medical Science Rezwana Choudhury Bannya CulturalNirmalendu Goon LiteratureBangladesh Navy

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak was awarded to 16 people. Kazi Ebadul Haque, language movement Sayed Haider, language movement Syed Golam Kibria, language movement (posthumous) Jasim Uddin Ahmed, language movement Jahanara Ahmed, arts (television and film) Pandit Amaresh Roy Chowdhury, arts (classical music) Shaheen Samad, arts (music) Amanul Haque, arts (dance) Kazi Anowar Hossain, arts (painting) (posthumous) Mofidul Hoque, Liberation War Toab Khan, journalism ABM Abdullah, research Mongsen Ching Monsin, research Jyoti Prakash Dutta, language and literature Hayat Mamud, language and literature Habibullah Siraji, language and literature

Sports Olympics: Bangladesh competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August, but did not win any medal in the competition. South Asian (Federation) Games: Bangladesh participated in the South Asian Games held in Guwahati and Shillong, India. Bangladesh won 4 golds, 15 silvers and 56 bronzes to finish the tournament at the fifth position in overall points table. Football: Bangladesh hosted 2016 Bangabandhu Cup in January. Nepal won the tournament. Dhaka Abahani won Premier League title. Cricket: 2016 Asia Cup was held in Bangladesh from 24 February to 6 March. It was the 13th edition of the Asia Cup, the fifth to be held in Bangladesh, and the first to be played using the T20I format. India beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the final to win their sixth Asia Cup title. The English cricket team toured Bangladesh in October to play three One Day Internationals (ODIs), two Test matches and three tour matches. England won the ODI series 2–1. The Test series finished 1–1, with Bangladesh recording their first ever Test win against England when they won the second Test by 108 runs.

Deaths

24 February - Abul Kalam Mohammed Zakaria, archaeologist (b. 1918) 24 February - A. K. N. Ahmed, economist (b. 1931) 10 March - Robin Ghosh, music composer (b. 1939) 12 March - Rafiq Azad, poet and a freedom fighter (b. 1942) 19 March - Rashiduddin Ahmad, neurosurgeon (b. 1937) 20 March - Parveen Sultana Diti, actor (b. 1965) 30 March - Mohammad Ferdous Khan, educationist 16 May - Sadek Khan, journalist (b. 1933) 23 May - Nurjahan Begum, journalist (b, 1925) 16 July - M. A. Mannan, neurologist (b. 1932) 4 September - M. Abdur Rahim, politician (b. 1927) 27 September - Syed Shamsul Haque, poet and writer (b. 1935)

See also 2010s in Bangladesh List of Bangladeshi films of 2016 2015–16 Bangladeshi cricket season Timeline of Bangladeshi history

References