Significant progress made in poverty reduction : BBS

FE Report | Published: July 28, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Bangladesh has reduced its extreme poverty by 4.2 per cent and poverty by 5.9 per cent between 2010 and 2014 indicating significant progress in achieving the millennium development goal (MDG) of poverty reduction by 2015, said Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
In a statement issued recently, BBS said according to an analysis of the rate of poverty reduction based on Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2000, 2005 and 2010, about 49 per cent of the population lived in poverty in 2000, which was reduced to 40 per cent in 2005, to 31.5 per cent in 2010 and to an estimated 25.6 per cent in June 2014.
On the other hand, more than 34 per cent people lived in extreme poverty which dropped to 25.1 per cent in 2005, to 17.6 per cent in 2010, to 13.1 per cent in 2013 and to an estimated 12.4 per cent in June 2014.
The rate of poverty reduction over the last four years was on an average 6.0 per cent which is the highest in the history of Bangladesh, experts said.
Terming the success in poverty reduction in Bangladesh a positive indicator, former adviser to caretaker government Hossain Zillur Rahman said the credit goes to all the successive governments from 2000 to present date.
"Three governments worked for poverty reduction during the said periods based on which BBS has analysed the poverty reduction trend. So no single government can claim the credit," he said.
He said Bangladesh is on track in achieving poverty reduction target but there are many other areas where the country will not be able to achieve the targets.
"I have reservation in BBS's projection on extreme poverty as it cannot be predicted by analysing poverty reduction trend. Besides, at the last hour of MDG, reduction of extreme poverty will be more difficult," Mr Zillur added.
World Bank lead economist Zahid Hussain told the FE Sunday that the country had an average 5.8 per cent GDP growth rate from 2000 until 2010 due to which about 16 million people came out of poverty within 10 years. After 2010, the GDP growth rate was more than 6.0 per cent on an average which must have had an impact on poverty.
"Besides GDP growth, the remittance flow and overall agricultural production increased which have accelerated the poverty reduction speed," said Mr Hussain.
He said HIES is done in every five years based on a household income and expenditure record keeping. There was an idea to conduct the HIES in every three years but it was not implemented, he added.
BBS used to carry out household expenditure survey (HES) since 1973-74. After 1995 it included expenditure module. BBS has conducted 15 such surveys with a five-year pause. The next HIES will be conducted in 2015.
Based on 2010 HIES, World Bank (WB) released Bangladesh Poverty Assessment Report on 20 June, 2013.