ABSTRACT
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. More than 130 million people live in an area of 147 540 km2 and the population is increasing at a rate of around 1.6% annually. Approximately 44% of the population lives below the poverty line. The urban population is around 25%. The country is administratively divided into six divisions, 64 districts, 460 Upazillas (sub-districts) and 4450 unions. Upazillas are the lowest tier of administrative unit and the unions are the lowest tier of the democratically elected local government. Recently a new tier of local government named Gram Sarkar (village government) has been created at the village level with representatives nominated by the government.
