Bangladesh is a low-lying country with a total area of 55,598 square miles or 1,43,999 square kilometers. It stretches latiudinally between 20034' and 26038' north and longitudinally between 88001' and 92041' east. It mostly surrounded by India territory except for a small strip in the southeast by Myanmar. Bay of Bengal lies on the south. most of its area is relatively flat lying in the deltaic plain of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system. The only significant uplands are in the northeast and southeast of the country with a network of rivers and canals forming a maze of interconnecting channels.
Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate marked by sweltering temperatures and high humidity. The country has mainly four seasons, the winter (Dec-Feb), summer (Mar-May), monsoon (Jun-Sep) and autumn ( Oct-Nov). During summer and monsoon tropical cyclones, storms and tidal bores are not uncommon.
The population of Bangladesh is about 130 million. Majority of the population are Muslim, Hindus, Buddhist and Christians make up 13 percent of the entire population. Over 98 percent of the people speak Bengali, English however, is widely used.
The lowest administrative unit is the union run by an elected union council. Each union comprises about 20,000 inhabitants and about 8-10 unions cluster into a upazila. Government services are concentrated at the upazila level. There are about 492 upazila in Bangladesh. Several upazila from a district. The total number of district stands at 64. The en country is broadly divided into six administrative division, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet.
Bangladesh has an agrarian economy. Agriculture accounts for nearly 46 percent of the GDP and provides employment to more than 61 percent of the workforce. Jute and rice are main cash crops. Other crops are tea, sugarcane, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, spices, wheat, potatoes, tobacco and cotton. The major industry in Bangladesh is jute processing followed by cotton, steel, garments and pharmaceutical.
As an emerging nation, Bangladesh places special priority on economic and social development. It order to accelerate the development process the Government has recently decentralized the administration and has undertaken massive development programmes. A large number of non-government organizations (NGO) are also involved in development activities to benefit the rural poor.