Premier Wen Jiabao starts an official visit on Thursday to Bangladesh, the second leg of his four-nation South Asia tour. 

Following are some basic facts about Bangladesh.

Location: a South Asian country with Myanmar to the southeast, India to the north, west and east.

Area: 143,998 square km.

Climate: rainy and generally hot, with an average annual temperature of 26.5ºC.

Population: 131 million.

Capital: Dhaka, with a population of about 10 million.

Language: Bengali is the national language and English is extensively used.

Religion: Islam embraces over 86.6 percent of the population, with the remainder being mainly Hindus.

Politics: the president is the head of state. The National Assembly of Bangladesh, or Jatiya Sangsad, is the legislative body.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2005)