1978 in Bangladesh explained

The year 1978 was the 7th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the second year of the Government of Ziaur Rahman.

Incumbents

• President: Ziaur Rahman
• Prime Minister: Mashiur Rahman (starting 29 June)
  • Vice President: Abdus Sattar Chief Justice: Syed A. B. Mahmud Hossain (until 31 January), Kemaluddin Hossain (starting 1 February)

Demography

Population, total

75,450,033
Population density (per km^2)	579.6
Population growth (annual %)	2.7%
Male to Female Ratio (every 100 Female)	106.2
Urban population (% of total)	12.6%
Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people)	44.0
Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people)	15.6
Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000 live births)	207
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)	51.5
Fertility rate, total (births per woman)	6.6

Economy

National Income

	Current US$	Current BDT	% of GDP
GDP	$13.3 billion	BDT200.8 billion
GDP growth (annual %)	7.1%
GDP per capita	$176.0	BDT2,662
Agriculture, value added	$7.2 billion	BDT108.9 billion	54.3%
Industry, value added	$1.9 billion	BDT28.7 billion	14.3%
Services, etc., value added	$4.2 billion	BDT63.1 billion	31.4%
Balance of Payment
	Current US$	Current BDT	% of GDP
Current account balance	style="text-align: right;"	-$383.9 million		style="text-align: right;"	-2.9%
Imports of goods and services	$1,592.7 million	BDT31.1 billion	15.5%
Exports of goods and services	$650.3 million	BDT11.2 billion	5.6%
Foreign direct investment, net inflows	$7.7 million		0.1%
Personal remittances, received	$115.4 million		0.9%
Total reserves (includes gold) at year end	$321.3 million
Total reserves in months of imports	2.3

Note: For the year 1978 average official exchange rate for BDT was 15.02 per US$.

Events

• 18 February - Boxing legend Muhammad Ali arrives in Bangladesh for a 5-day visit.^[1]
• 3 June - Ziaur Rahman wins presidential election and secures his position for a five-year term.
• 28 June - The ashes of Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana brought to Bangladesh from Tibet.
• Bangladesh is elected to a two-year term on the UN Security Council.^[2]
• As a result of Operation King Dragon by the Burmese junta, the first wave of Rohingya refugees entered Bangladesh in 1978. An estimated 200,000 Rohingyas took shelter in Cox's Bazar. Diplomatic initiatives over 16 months resulted in a repatriation agreement, which allowed the return of most refugees under a process facilitated by UNHCR.^[3]

Awards and recognitions

International Recognition

• Tahrunessa Abdullah, A social worker who championed the role of women in improving their families' livelihoods, was awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award.^[4]

Independence Day Award

Recipients	Area	Note
	literature	posthumous
	education	posthumous
	social welfare	posthumous
	social welfare
	science and technology
	music
	rural development
	population control

Ekushey Padak

1. Khan Mohammad Moinuddin (literature)
2. Ahsan Habib (literature)
3. Zulfikar Haidar (literature)
4. Mahbubul Alam (literature)
5. Natyaguru Nurul Momen (literature)
6. Ava Alam (music)
7. Safiuddin Ahmed (art)
8. Serajuddin Hossain (journalism)
9. Sayed Moazzem Hossain (art)

Sports

• International football:1978 AFC Youth Championship held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 5 October to 28 October 1978.
• Domestic football: Mohammedan SC won Dhaka League title, while Brothers Union came out runners-up.^[5]

Births

• Ananta Jalil, actor, director, businessman
• Nafees Bin Zafar, software engineer

Deaths

• 17 January: Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury, academician (b. 1922)
• 4 March: Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, author (b. 1897)
• 29 March: Ibrahim Khan, writer (b. 1894)
• 18 June: Zahidur Rahim, music exponent (b. 1935)
• 13 August: Muhammad Siddiq Khan, librarian (b. 1910)

See also

• 1970s in Bangladesh
• List of Bangladeshi films of 1978
• Timeline of Bangladeshi history

Notes and References

1. News: Massey . Reginald . 4 June 2016 . Bangladesh I Love You . The Daily Star.
2. http://www.photius.com/countries/bangladesh/government/bangladesh_government_international_organi~261.html Bangladesh International Organizations
3. Web site: Repatriation of Rohingya Refugees . www.burmalibrary.org.
4. Web site: Awardees who worked in Bangladesh . dead . Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation . https://web.archive.org/web/20180701004536/http://rmaward.asia/awardees/country/bangladesh/ . 2018-07-01 . 2018-11-04.
5. Web site: List of Champions. Atsushi Fujioka for Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 2018-10-16.