Situated on the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh shares large borders with India and a small southern boundary with Myanmar. The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers meet in Bangladesh to form the world’s largest delta. 159 million people live in Bangladesh, with children comprising 41% of the total population.

Three-quarters of this population live in rural areas where families rely primarily on agriculture and fishing for their livelihood. Over half of these families and their children live below the poverty line.  Bangladesh has made significant strides forward in reducing human poverty, but many children are still forced to work to supplement family income.  It is estimated that 7.4 million children are engaged in work in some form.  Most of these children work in the informal sector, many under dangerous conditions.  By working at such a young age, these children are also missing out on vital education.  

Bangladesh has achieved remarkable success in enrolment in primary education, with 91% of children enrolled as a result of the government’s supply of free books and other initiatives.  Even so, 50% of children drop out before they complete primary education.  According to research by Save the Children, attending school is difficult for working children, children with disabilities, children of very poor families, ethnic minority and indigenous communities and those living in remote areas. The teacher student ratio in Bangladesh is around 1 to 47; teachers are not trained in modern methods of teaching, they pursue traditional methods of memorising lessons, and physical punishment and humiliation is a common practice.