ABSTRACT
AUSTRALIA AND
BANGLADESH
A compare and contrast assignment
This assignment will talk about the
similarities and differences as well
as learn about the two countries.
Giritharan - Kiran
History Assignment 2
Introduction
This information report compares and contrasts Australia with my
chosen country. The report highlights the economical, geographical
and political features of each country as well as the cultural diversity
and natural resources. Also covered is how these two countries have
developed over time.
My Chosen Country
The country I have chosen is Bangladesh, a small land mass
located in Southeast Asia. It is a country that I had heard of
before but knew very little about. By choosing Bangladesh, I am
able to learn more about this country especially in comparison
to Australia. Another reason for choosing Bangladesh is that my
family are originally from Sri Lanka, a small country that is part of
the Indian sub continent so I thought it would be good to study
another small country that is also part of the Indian sub
continent.
Bangladesh
The Indian subcontinent.
Population and Geographical size
Australia has a total land area of 7,692,024 km², making it the largest
island in the world. Its population reached 23 million last year and
has since risen to 23.5 million. For Australia, this is considered a fast
population growth.
Bangladesh on the other hand, has a land area of 147,570 km². This
is considerably smaller when compared to Australia. Its population
however is approximately 157 million, more than 6 times that of
Australia.
To understand what these numbers really mean, we need to look at
the population density. This is the number of people per square
kilometre of land. Australia has a population density of 3.05 people
per square kilometre. That is an incredibly small number that results
from Australia having a large area and a small population. The actual
density in Australian coastal cities is much higher because most
Australians prefer to live on the coast and much of the Australian
outback (central Australia) is unpopulated.
Bangladesh has a population density of 1063.9 people per square
kilometre. This is an incredibly high figure but is not uncommon to
many third world Asian countries.
Capitals
The capital of Australia is Canberra located in the Australian Capital
Territory (ACT). Canberra is the smallest capital city in Australia.
Canberra was selected because it was a non coastal city
that lay between Sydney and Melbourne.
The Australian Capital Territory has a population of
approximately 375,000 and a total area of 2358 km².
Sydney however, is considered the financial capital of
Australia because it is home to the Australian Stock
Exchange.
the Australian parliament house
The capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka, which is located near the centre
of the country. Unlike Canberra, Dhaka has the highest population of
all the cities in Bangladesh. It has a population of over 7 million and
an area of only 815.8 km². This is massively different to Canberra.
Government
Bangladesh’s government is a unitary parliamentary republic. This
means that it consists of a single body of elected members. The
parliament has 350 seats of which 50 are reserved for women. The
people elect the members. The Prime Minister is then elected by the
party with the most members.
Australia's government is quite similar in many ways. It is called a
federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Parliament has
two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The
House of Representatives has 150 seats where the members are
elected by the people. The Senate has 76 seats where the people
also elect the senators.
The Prime Minister is chosen by the party which has the majority in
the House of Representatives. The Governor General, who is
representative of the Queen of England, formally appoints the
government with the majority of members.
Languages
The primary language spoken in Bangladesh is Bengali. It is spoken by
most of the population in the country and as well as in some parts of
India. Australian mainly speak English which is the most commonly
spoken language in the world.
Currency
The Bangladesh currency (Bangladesh Taka) is country specific so it is
only used in that country. 1 Taka is worth less than 1 Australian cent.
However the Australian Dollar is approximately equivalent to 70
Bangladesh Taka. There is a significant difference in the value of the
two currencies.
Annual Income Per Capita
Bangladesh is a third world country so most of its population are
forced to live within the poverty cycle. The majority of Bangladeshis
will have little or no education, which in turn means they will be
unable to get a good job. As a result, they cannot afford to educate
their own children. This cycle is likely to continue through each
generation. The average Bangladeshi annual income is $1,044.
Fortunately, most people in Australia avoid the poverty cycle and live
a normal life. The average income is much higher and Australia has a
good welfare system to help those that cannot work. The average
annual income in Australia is approximately $41,500.
Primary Industries
Australia is well known for its mining industries. Other major
industries are agriculture and tourism. Much of Australia’s produce
and natural minerals like coal, gold and iron are shipped to China and
many Southeast Asian countries.
Bangladesh imports food and minerals for their own use. They then
use these materials to construct things like ships, telecoms, textiles
and more. Because the quality of these items is poor, the money
they receive from exports is little.
Primary Imports and Exports
Those goods that Bangladesh makes are then exported mostly to the
U.S.A. From their exports, they make a total of $30.25 billion per
year and that is actually quite a lot.
They also have to buy things like minerals including iron, gold and
machinery and other equipment. All these products and food equal a
total amount of $29.27 billion each year. That means, per year,
Bangladesh makes only $980 million on imports and exports.
Australia, on the other hand, is wiser with their money. They
produce ore, food and many other useful things. They then export
the products to other countries. The total amount they receive on
exports per year is $258.8 billion. Compared to Bangladesh that is a
bit less than 10 times bigger.
Of course, for Australia to mine and create farms, they need
equipment, machinery, electronics and fuel to power the machines.
All this comes to a price of $239.7 billion per year. This then means
Australia makes $19.1 billion per year. They use this money on
health, safety and education. This is one reason why Australia is one
of the most developed countries.
Life Expectancy
Even though one country is a third world country, they are both fit
and healthy. Due to this, the life expectancy is the larger so that
means most people live longer. Australia has a life expectancy of 81
years and Bangladesh has a life expectancy of 70 years. These
numbers are both high but there is an 11 year difference between
the two countries.
The average life expectancy of people in the whole world is 67 years
and compared to Australia, that is a big difference but compared to
Bangladesh, that it is not so big.
Adult Literacy
The adult literacy rate in Bangladesh currently stands at 57.7%. In
other words, 57.7 people out of 100 can read and write. Australia's
adult literacy rate is currently being 96%. That is massively different
compared to Bangladesh.
The literacy rate of the world is 84.1%. It is lower than Australia's but
much higher than Bangladeshis. This is another difference between
Australia and Bangladesh.
Religions
In more than 80% of the people living in Bangladesh is Islam. Hindus
take up about 10% of the population and the rest is split up between
Buddhists and Christians.
Australia used to be filled with aboriginals but then Christians living
in England took over and their kind started to spread. Now about
61.4% of the population are Christians and the next highest takes up
2.3% of the population and that is Buddhism. Hindus and Dews take
up only a little of the population and is not very popular in Australia.
Ethnic Groups
A few of the main ethnic groups in Bangladesh include Manipur,
Rajbangshi, Khasia and Triphura than. Of course, since Bangladesh is
and uncommon country, we do not know these ethnic groups.
Australia is a country of migrants. Around 45% were either born
overseas or have a parent who was born overseas. The following are
the ethnic groups in Australia: Caucasian 92%; Asian 7%; Aboriginal
and Others 1%.
Celebrations and Traditions
Bangladesh celebrates many things. Some include Pahela Baishaka
(Bangla new year), Victory day (16th December) and the most
important is Independence Day, which occurs on the 26th March.
Music in Bangladesh can be folk, classical and modern. The classical
music, both vocal and instrumental is rooted in the remote past of
the sub-continent. There is a rich tradition for art in the country.
Zainul Abedin earned international fame for his sketches on famine
of 1943 in Bangladesh. Common sports played in Bangladesh include
Kabaddi, cricket and football.
With Australia, many people celebrate Australian and New Zealand
Army Corp day and Australia day (when the English took over
Australia).
Indigenous Australian music is a part of the unique heritage of a
40,000–60,000 year history, which produced the iconic didgeridoo.
Other music forms includes out back and rock. Sports played in
Australia include cricket, rugby, soccer and AFL. Since Australia is a
multi-cultural country, cuisines very. The most common are
European foods because Australia is mostly European.
Conclusion
This report has highlighted the many similarities and differences
between these two countries. In particular, the culture, the language
and the politics are very different. One thing that both Australia and
Bangladesh have in common is the love for sport like cricket and
football.
Extension Question; the links between Australia and
Bangladesh
Australian Aboriginals are believed to have originated from the
Indian sub-continent and that includes Bangladesh. During the iceage, they migrated across the ocean to Australia and when the ice
melted, they were forced to live there.