# 1979 in Bangladesh

1979 (MCMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1979th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 979th year of the 2nd millennium, the 79th year of the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1970s decade.
The year 1979 was the 8th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the third year of the Government of Ziaur Rahman. This year martial law is lifted following elections, which Zia's Bangladesh National Party (BNP) wins.

## Incumbents

* President: Ziaur Rahman
* Prime Minister: Mashiur Rahman (until 12 March), Shah Azizur Rahman (starting 15 April)
* Vice President: Abdus Sattar
* Chief Justice: Kemaluddin Hossain

## Demography

Demographic Indicators for Bangladesh in 1979 :
| Population, total | 77,529,040 |
| Population density (per km$^2$) | 595.6 |
| Population growth (annual %) | 2.7% |
| Male to Female Ratio (every 100 Female) | 106.2 |
| Urban population (% of total) | 13.7% |
| Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people) | 43.5 |
| Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people) | 14.9 |
| Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000 live births) | 203 |
| Life expectancy at birth, total (years) | 52.3 |
| Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 6.5 |

## Climate

Climate data for Bangladesh in 1979 :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 19.2 (66.6) | 20.1 (68.2) | 25. (77) | 28.2 (82.8) | 29.7 (85.5) | 28.9 (84.0) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.1 (82.6) | 27.1 (80.8) | 25.1 (77.2) | 20.1 (68.2) | 25.7 (78.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 9.7 (0.38) | 14.2 (0.56) | 16.9 (0.67) | 94. (3.7) | 126.1 (4.96) | 388. (15.3) | 516.9 (20.35) | 551. (21.7) | 478. (18.8) | 109.5 (4.31) | 26. (1.0) | 41.6 (1.64) | 2,371.7 (93.37) |
| Source: Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia (UEA) ||||||||||||||

## Economy

Key Economic Indicators for Bangladesh in 1979 :
| National Income ||||
| | Current US$ | Current BDT | % of GDP |
| GDP | $15.6 billion | BDT236.9 billion | |
| GDP growth (annual %) | 4.8% | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| GDP per capita | $200.8 | BDT3,056 | |
| Agriculture, value added | $8.2 billion | BDT124.3 billion | 52.5% |
| Industry, value added | $2.4 billion | BDT37.2 billion | 15.7% |
| Services, etc., value added | $5.0 billion | BDT75.5 billion | 31.9% |
| Balance of Payment ||||
| | Current US$ | Current BDT | % of GDP |
| Current account balance | -$415.9 million | | -2.7% |
| Imports of goods and services | $2,098.0 million | BDT37.4 billion | 15.8% |
| Exports of goods and services | $788.2 million | BDT14.5 billion | 6.1% |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflows | -$8.0 million | | -0.1% |
| Personal remittances, received | $171.1 million | | 1.1% |
| Total reserves (includes gold) at year end | $413.6 million | | |
Note: For the year 1979 average official exchange rate for BDT was 15.55 per US$.

## Events

* 26 January – Near Chuadanga, a train derails and overturns, killing at least 70 and injuring at least 300.
* 18 February – Second National Parliamentary Elections were held. The result was a victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which won 207 of the 300 seats.
* 6 April – The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh was passed by the Jatiya Sangsad. This Act amended the Fourth Schedule to the constitution by adding a new paragraph 18 thereto, which provided that all amendments, additions, modifications, substitutions and omissions made in the constitution during the period between 15 August 1975 and 9 April 1979 (both days inclusive) by any Proclamation or Proclamation Order of the Martial Law Authorities had been validly made and would not be called in question in or before any court or tribunal or authority on any ground whatsoever.
* 7 April – Bangladesh started the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) to reduce child deaths from vaccine preventable diseases.

### Awards and Recognitions
#### Independence Day Award

| Recipients | Area | Note |
| Abul Mansur Ahmed | literature | posthumous |
| Dr. Qazi Motahar Hossain | science and technology | |
| Dr. Muzaffar Ahmed Choudhury | education | posthumous |
| Firoza Begum | music | |
| Samar Das | music | |
| Phuljhuri Khan | music | |
| Kamrul Hassan | arts | Designed the Flag of Bangladesh |
| Tahera Kabir | social welfare | |
| Nur Mohammad Mandal | population control | |

#### Ekushey Padak

* Azizur Rahman (literature)
* Benajir Ahmed (literature)
* Abdul Latif (music)
* Sheikh Luthfur Rahman (music)
* Abdul Wahab (journalism)
* Mohammad Modabber (journalism)
* Muhammad Enamul Haque (education)

### Sports

* Domestic football: Team BJMC won Dhaka League title, while Abahani KC came out runners-up.

## Births

* Kazi Sharmin Nahid Nupur also known by stage name Shabnur, film actress
* Sadika Parvin Popy, film actress
* Anila Naz Chowdhury, singer

## Deaths

* 3 April – Syed Mahbub Murshed, lawyer and jurist (b. 1911)
* 27 June – Bande Ali Mia, poet (b. 1906)