Bangladesh is facing a setback in its poverty reduction efforts, with the World Bank projecting that the national poverty rate could rise to 23% by the end of 2025, up from 18.7% in 2022. The number of people living in extreme poverty—those earning less than $2.15 per day—is expected to reach 9.3%, potentially adding 3 million people to that category.
In response to the alarming forecast, the government has launched an urgent survey to assess the ground realities. Planning advisor Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud announced that the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) would collect field-level data to understand the root causes and formulate effective responses. He also confirmed that special allocations for the newly impoverished would be included in the upcoming national budget.
The World Bank attributes the rise in poverty to sluggish post-COVID investment and job creation, along with soaring prices of essential goods. The crisis worsened in late 2024, during which approximately 4% of workers lost their jobs and many saw reduced incomes, contributing to widening social inequality.
Data from the BBS’s latest Labor Force Survey reveals that unemployment rose to 3.6% in 2024, up from 3.4% the previous year. The service and agriculture sectors were particularly hard hit, suffering significant job losses.
