Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world having a total population of 120 million in an area of 147570 km2. Over 80 percent of the people live in the rural areas. The majority of the rural people remain unemployed for at least some month of the time. More than half of the rural people are landless or nearly so and another 25 percent find it difficult to ensure subsistance from their cultivable land and need to seek supplementary sources of income. Economic and social conditions for most people are extremely difficult.
Agriculture remains the largest sector of the economy occupying three-fifths of the employed labour force and producing nearly half of the economy's output. Land is the main productive asset in rural areas; it represents both economic and social status.