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Comparison of demographic, trading and economic

features of Australia and Bangladesh


Introduction
The countries of this whole wide world can be identified on the basis of their
economical expansion, technological maturity and some statistical indexes. Kofi Annan,
former Secretary General of the United Nations, has elucidated a developed country as
follows, “A developed country is one which has balanced demographic features and
which allows its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment. On the
other hand, under developed and developing countries are those which have not achieved
significant degree of industrialization relative to their population and which have, in most
cases a medium to low standard of living.” In fact, till now various indicators have been
used and analyzed to define a country as a developed and under developed one. Among
them economists and policy makers have given emphasis on three vital features. They
are-
* Demographic
* Trading and
* Economic features.
The above mentioned features elucidate the overall stipulation of any country as well as
facilitate the comparison between developed and under developed countries. Therefore,
in our whole assignment we have tried to high light these three significant features to
compare between Bangladesh and Australia. Moreover, we have analyzed these data to
find out which of the characteristics appear to be either stumbling blocks to progress or
key factors to rapid development. Before entering into the main part of assignment it is
necessary for us to know the basic features regarding Australia and Bangladesh. So let’s
start with Bangladesh. Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a
country in South Asia. Bangladesh is a fertile alluvial plain on the delta of three main
rivers, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. The country covers an area of
1, 47,570 square kilometers. Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. The tropical monsoons,
with heavy summer rains, experienced in Bangladesh are generally accompanied by

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cyclones and floods, often with catastrophic consequence. The borders of present-day
Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal and India in 1947, when the
region became the eastern wing of the newly formed Pakistan. Political and linguistic
discrimination as well as economic neglect led to popular agitations against West
Pakistan, which led to the war for independence in 1971 and the establishment of
Bangladesh. After independence the new state endured famines, natural disasters and
widespread poverty, as well as political turmoil and military coups. To illustrate,
Bangladesh has made significant progress in human development in the areas of literacy,
gender parity in schooling. However, Bangladesh is still facing a number of major
challenges, including widespread political and bureaucratic corruption, economic
competition relative to the world, poverty, increasing rate of population, low productivity
in terms of high population and so on.

Source-Bangladesh-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Now we are going to illuminate some significant information regarding Australia.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern
hemisphere comprising the mainland, which is both the world's smallest continent and the
world's largest island, the island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian
and Pacific Oceans. Australia is the only place that is simultaneously considered a
continent, a country and an island. The total area of Australia is 7,686,850 square
kilometers. Canberra is the capital of Australia.

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Source- Australia-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Technologically advanced and industrialized, Australia is a prosperous multicultural
country and has excellent results in many international comparisons of national
performance such as health care, life expectancy, quality-of-life, human development,
public education, economic freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political
rights.
Now we are going to concentrate on the core three features of Australia and Bangladesh
and on the basis of these features we are going to compare the level of development of
these two countries.
1) Demographic features-
Demographic features are one of the most effective indicators which
clarify the position of a country in terms of various information regarding population. For
example, demographic features deal with total population, natural increase rate of
population, age, sex ratio and so on. With the help of these data we can gather knowledge
concerning the economic activities as well as economic development of a country.
Demographic features of Bangladesh on the basis of year 2008
a) Total population-
According to the estimation of July 2008, total population of Bangladesh is
153,546,901.
b) Natural increase rate of population-
Natural increase rate of population of Bangladesh is 2.09%
c) Urban-Rural population-
23.39% population of Bangladesh live in urban areas and 76.61% population of
Bangladesh live in rural areas.
d) Male-female ratio-

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The male-female ratio of Bangladesh is 103.8/100.
e) Infant mortality rate-
Infant mortality rate of Bangladesh is 57.45%.
f) Density of population-
According to 2008 evaluation, the density of population of Bangladesh is 1,066 per
square kilometer.
g) Sex-ratio-
At birth 1.06male/female
Under 15 years: 1.07male/female
15-64 years: 1.04male/female
65 years and above: 1.15male/female
Total population: 1.05male/female
h) Dependency ratio-
The total dependency ratio of Bangladesh is 39.9%
i) Literacy rate-
The literacy rate of Bangladesh is 65.5%.
j) CBR (Crude Birth Rate)-
CBR of Bangladesh is 28.86 births/1000 population.
k) CDR (Crude Death Rate)-
CDR of Bangladesh is 8 deaths/1000 population.
l) Life expectancy-
Life expectancy in case of Bangladesh is 63.21 years.
m) House hold size-
The overall average house hold size of Bangladesh is 5 members per house.
Demographic features of Australia on the basis of year 2008
a) Total population-
According to the estimation of 2008 the total population of Australia is 21,849,127
b) Natural increase rate of population-
Natural increase rate of population of Australia is 1.7%
c) Urban-Rural population-

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89% of total population of Australia live in urban areas and 11% of total population
live in rural areas.
d) Male-female ratio-
The male-female ratio of Australia is 101/100
e) Infant mortality rate-
Infant mortality rate of Australia is 4.4%.
f) Density of population-
According to the estimation of 2008, the population density of Australia is 2.8
persons per square kilometer.
g) Sex-ratio-
At birth: 1.05male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05male/female
15-64 years: 1.03male/female
65 years and above: 0.83male/female
Total population: 1male/female
h) Dependency ratio-
The total dependency ratio of Australia is 36.6%
i) Literacy rate-
The literacy rate of Australia is 99.0%
j) CBR (Crude Birth Rate)-
CBR of Australia is 22.55 births/1000 population.
k) CDR (Crude Death Rate)-
CDR of Australia is 5.68 deaths/1000population.
l) Life expectancy-
Life expectancy in case of Australia is 80.62 years.
m) House hold size-
The average house hold size of Australia is 2 members per house.
Comparison between the demographic features of Bangladesh and Australia
In this part of the assignment, we have tried to point out the foremost differences
between Bangladesh and Australia on the basis of the demographic features. These
demographic features help us to understand the reasons behind the economical inferiority

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of Bangladesh in comparison to Australia. To simplify, we have pointed out some
noteworthy differences between the demographic traits of Bangladesh and Australia.
They are given below-
 On the basis of above mentioned information we can see that the population
of Bangladesh is much higher that that of Australia. On the contrary, the
total area of Bangladesh is smaller than Australia. From this perception we
can easily understand that there exist huge pressures on land, unbalanced
ownership of the land in Bangladesh. As the total area does not increase
with the population, so the extra people with low income are bound to live
in slums. Moreover, food problem occurs because every land has a
particular amount of capability for production. So its not possible to increase
the amount of food production with the rapid growth of population. In fact
citizens are deprived from enjoying a high standard of living. On the other
hand, Australia’s population is very small compared to land. As a result, the
citizens of Australia are enjoying prosperous and advanced life. To sum up,
we can say that a country with healthy and efficient citizen can easily
achieve development.
 From the above mentioned information we have also seen that the natural
increase rate of population is also high in Bangladesh compared to
Australia. As a result, poverty is prevailing in Bangladesh. Because when
population tends to increase, per capita income of people tends to decrease.
That’s why the rate of economic growth of Bangladesh is very low.
Moreover, unemployment is also prevailing in Bangladesh at a large scale.
But in Australia the natural increase rate of population is low. So Australia’s
per capita income as well as per capita gross national product is high. So the
citizens of Australia don’t have to suffer for poverty. As they have high per
capita income, they can invest money to build up industries which creates
various job opportunities. So unemployment does not exist in Australia.
That’s why Australia is far more ahead than Bangladesh in case of
economical advancement.

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 Another substantial difference is the rate of urban and rural population. In
Bangladesh almost an extensive portion of total population live in rural
areas. So the rate of urbanization is low. As a result, people are much more
related with primary economic activities compared to secondary and tertiary
economic activities. Two thirds of the population of Bangladesh works in
the agricultural sector.

Source-Bangladesh-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


But in Australia, the image is totally different as more than 70% people live
in urban areas, so secondary and tertiary economic activities are practiced
extensively. This is one of the main reasons behind the robust and modern
economy of Australia.
 There is another huge difference between Bangladesh and Australia in terms
of infant mortality rate. In Bangladesh the rate of infant mortality is very
high because of lacking in education and insufficient facilities of medical
services. As the tendency of child death is high in Bangladesh, so the
parents want to give birth of more children and ultimately it leads to the
amplification of population. On the other hand, Australia has advanced and
modern medical services. Again the parents are conscious and educated, so
the infant mortality rate is less.
 Bangladesh and Australia has difference in case of density of population. As
we have discussed before that Bangladesh has enormous population
compared to its land, so the density of population is also very high here. As
a result, people don’t have much space to live in. They have to live in
cramped way. Therefore, the citizens have to face inadequate supply of
utility services. Traffic congestion also occurs for this intense population

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density. The conditions of physical infrastructures also become poor
because of huge pressure of population per square kilometer. On the
contrary, Australia has moderate type of population density. So the citizens
have huge amount of place to live and enjoy their life. Again, the
communication and traffic system of Australia is also perfect as there is no
pressure of population per square kilometer.
 We can compare Bangladesh and Australia on the basis of literacy ratio.
Bangladesh has high illiteracy rate compared to the total number of
population. Because we know that the rate of population in Bangladesh is
increasing rapidly, so the number of students is also increasing. But the
number of schools and colleges are not escalating. As a result, many
students are deprived from getting education. Moreover people of low
income can’t admit their children to schools because of lack of money.
Again the standard of education in Bangladesh is not satisfactory. All in all,
we can say that a major portion of Bangladeshi population remains illiterate
and it is a great obstacle in the path of economic development. On the other
hand, Australia’s literacy rate is very high and as we have mentioned before
99% people are literate according to the estimation of 2008. Australia has
reasonable amount of population and all of the citizens enjoy their basic
rights like education, food, shelter etc. That’s why Australia has sufficient
schools, colleges to educate their future generation. Moreover, the education
system of Australia is also very up-to-date.
 Bangladesh and Australia is different from each other in case of CBR and
CDR. Now the question arises what is the meaning of CBR and CDR. CBR
indicates total number of births in a country on the basis of per thousand
population. CDR means total number of deaths in a country on the basis of
per thousand population. So it’s quite comprehensible that the difference
between CBR and CDR indicates the rate of natural increase of population
of a country in a year. In case of Bangladesh both the CBR and CDR are
higher than that of Australia. Therefore, the population of Bangladesh is
escalating swiftly. But Australia’s CBR and CDR are lower. So the

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economic phenomenon of Australia is becoming wider day by day as the
natural increase rate of population is minor.
 The comparison between Bangladesh and Australia can be done on the basis
of life expectancy. As we have mentioned earlier that the life expectancy in
case of Bangladesh is 63.21 years as per estimation of 2008. But few years
back this life expectancy was lower than 63.21 years. Now-a-days it has
increased as people are becoming conscious day by day. Moreover, the
government of Bangladesh has taken many steps for providing medical
services to rural areas. Various NGOs are working in the rural areas of
Bangladesh to teach people about drinking safe water, eating fruits and
vegetables, washing hands before eating etc. So people are following those
rules, getting medical services and becoming the owner of long lives.
Consequently rate of death is declining, but rate of birth is increasing which
is responsible for the growth of population. On the contrary, life expectancy
in case of Australia is 80.62 years as their medical services are very
effective and advanced. Though the rate of death in Australia is lower, but
their rate of birth does not increase rapidly like Bangladesh.
 Bangladesh and Australia also differs in case of dependency ratio. Actually
dependent population means that portion of people who can’t earn money on
their own. Financially they have to depend on others to lead their lives.
People of age group 0-14 and 64+, are known as dependent population. As
we can see from the previous part of the assignment that dependency ratio is
higher in Bangladesh than that of Australia. It means in Australia more
people are engaged in economical activities. So the national income of
Australia is far more superior to Bangladesh.
 Last but not least dissimilarity between Bangladesh and Australia is the
house hold size. As we have noticed in case of Bangladesh the average
house hold size is 5 and in Australia it is 2. In Bangladesh total population is
higher than Australia and joint family exist. So the number of family
members is higher in Bangladesh. Moreover Bangladeshi parents give birth
to more children because they desire for boys who will be the inherent of

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family. For this type of superstitious and weird thoughts the dependency rate
and eventually the total number of population is increasing day by day. But
in Australia gender discrimination does not exist and parents have fewer
children as they consider boys and girls to be equal. Again in Australia both
mother and father are service holders and that’s why they prefer fewer
children which ultimately lead towards fewer family members.
2) Trading feature-
Trade is one of the most substantial sectors of tertiary economic activities.
Basically trade is the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or
international markets) of goods and services. By analyzing the trading features of any
country we can easily find out its performance at the field of world financial system.
Trade is the main resource for the initialization of industrialization and urbanization. So
trading features help us to identify the developed, under developed and developing
countries.
Trading features of Bangladesh on the basis of year 2008
a) Export and import commodities-
The export commodities of Bangladesh are-garments, jute and jute goods, leather,
frozen fish (shrimp), seafood, tea, fertilizer, handicraft products, vegetable, ceramics,
spices, mushroom etc.
The import commodities of Bangladesh are-iron and steel, cement, chemicals,
textiles, petroleum products, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, transport vehicles,
unrefined oil, medicines, cotton, coffee, edible oil, paper, rubber etc.
b) Export and import countries-
The countries to which Bangladesh export its commodities are- USA, UK, Germany,
France, Middle East, India, Poland, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Belgium, Korea, Pakistan etc.
The countries from which Bangladesh import commodities are-China, India, Kuwait,
Singapore, Hong Kong, Denmark, Canada, Middle East, Japan, Thailand, USA , UK,
Germany, Italy, France etc.
c) Percentage (%) of export at different countries-
Percentage of export of Bangladesh at different countries at 2008 is given below-
USA 23%, Germany 13%, UK 9.1%, France 5.5%, Belgium 4%.

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Therefore, the total amount of export of Bangladesh at 2008 is $ 13.97 billion.
d) Percentage (%) of import at different countries-
Percentage of import of Bangladesh at different countries at 2008 is given below-
China 15%, India 14.3%, Kuwait 8.3%, Singapore 6.2%, Hong Kong 4.2%.
Therefore, the total amount of import of Bangladesh at 2008 is $ 20.17 billion.
e) Ports/areas of Bangladesh related with trading activities-
There are two sea ports in Bangladesh which are related with trading activities and
they are-Chittagong and Mongla port. Again, there are some river ports which are related
with trading activities and they are-Dhaka, Chandpur, Vairab, Narayanganj, Khulna,
Ashugonj, Baghabari, Sirajgonj, Sharishabari etc.
Trading features of Australia on the basis of year 2008
a) Export and import commodities-
The export commodities of Australia are- coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina,
wheat, machinery, transport equipment, crude oil, wine, industrial inorganic chemicals,
nickel, semi finished iron and steel products, pharmaceutical products, railway
transportation equipment, food grains, food oil, oil seeds, mining and oil processing
equipment, farming materials including live animals, passenger cars, miscellaneous non-
ferrous ( non-magnetic) metals, scientific, medical and hospital equipment etc.
The import commodities of Australia are- computers and office machines,
telecommunication equipments, petroleum products, civilian aircraft, chemical fertilizers,
excavating machinery, industrial machines, drilling and oilfield equipment, lumber,
vegetables, military aircraft etc.
b) Export and import countries-
The countries to which Australia exports its commodities are-USA, Japan, China,
South Korea, New Zealand, India, UK etc.
The countries from which Australia imports commodities are- USA, Canada, Thailand,
China, Germany, Singapore, Japan, UK etc.
c) Percentage (%) of export at different countries-
Percentage of export of Australia to different countries is given below-
Japan 18.9%, China 14.2%, South Korea 8%, US 6%, NZ 5.6%, India 5.5%, UK 4.2%
Therefore, the total amount of export of Australia at 2008 is $ 178.9 billion.

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d) Percentage (%) of import at different countries-
Percentage of import of Australia at different countries is given below-
China 15.5%, US 12.8%, Japan 9.6%, Singapore 5.6%, Germany 5.2%, UK 4.3%,
Thailand 4.2%.
Therefore, the total amount of import of Australia at 2008 is $ 187.2 billion.
e) Ports/areas of Bangladesh related with trading activities-
There are many areas or ports in Australia which are related with trade activities. They
are- Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, Darwin, Adelaide, Brisbane etc.
Comparison between the trading features of Australia and Bangladesh
 If we want to compare between Australia and Bangladesh on the basis of
trading features, then we will notice a similarity. That is in case of both
countries the amount of import is greater than export. So both of the country
will face a negative balance of trade. Therefore they will face loss. Again we
can say that Australia exports lots of products to various countries than
Bangladesh. It indicates that in Australia there are many industries which
produce numerous and standard goods than Bangladesh.
3) Economic features-
Economic features are the most important indicators to judge the performance of any
country in terms of development. Because GDP, GNP, per capita income etc. are the
resources by which economists analyze the position of a country.

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