Bangladesh, situated at the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers and their network of tributaries, is in a unique geographic location, between the Himalayan mountain chain in the north and the Bay of Bengal in the south. Bangladesh is the world’s eighth and Asia’s fifth most populous country, with an area of 14.5 million ha. The country is divided into 6 administrative Divisions, 64 Districts and 507 Thanas or Upazilas (communes), including 42 Thanas in the four metropolitan areas.