Bangladesh tends to be thought of as poverty-stricken and disaster-prone - a pity for a fascinating and beautiful country with a friendly, welcoming population. Most of the country consists of the alluvial plain of the huge Ganges-Brahmaputra river system, the largest delta in the world. To the east of this lie the modest peaks of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Independence
Bangladesh first came into being as an independent nation in 1971, when the east and west parts of Pakistan split after a bitter civil war. Despite democracy being restored in 1990 after 15 years of military rule, the political scene remains fairly volatile.

Landscape
With a mostly pancake-flat landscape dissected by wide rivers, annual flooding is a fact of life that frequently causes widespread destruction. Such flooding also brings fertility and as a result Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries. Poverty is widespread but health and education standards are slowly improving.