Facts and figures about us

Almost simultaneously, two reports have been released in continuation of the past. Though apparently an annual ritual, the reports hold a mirror with fresh perspective to our human resource and the course of its growth and development. The two reports reveal facts and figures about us, the people of Bangladesh, and as such should be of interest. A caveat has to be made, however, at the very beginning; facts and figures presented through sample surveys do not always reflect the reality in toto. Therefore, these should be treated as an approximation of what actually prevails at a particular time.
According to a study by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the average life expectancy in Bangladesh has gone up by three years, from 67.7 years to 70.7 years in 2014. The BBS recently released the study report on Sample Vital Registration System (SVRS). According to the SVRS report, life expectancy has increased on average by 0.60 years annually over the last 5 years, reaching 70.7 years in 2014 from 67.7 years in 2010. The gain is slightly higher among men than among women. The reason cited by the BBS for this difference is the result of higher survival advantage in favour of females. The report revealed that females are living longer than males as life expectancy of females has increased from 68.8 years to 71.6 years, whereas for males it has increased from 66.6 years to 69.1 years.
The study does not elaborate on the factors contributing to higher longevity of females by almost three years. Better nutrition in food intake, improved hygienic condition and better health services may have contributed to the higher longevity of females. These have in turn been made accessible to the people, particularly the poor, through improvement in employment and income. This suggests that female participation in labour force has increased in recent years. Though the poor among them have benefited by better employment opportunities, both self and wage, their relative status to those above the poverty line remains problematic. The average life expectancy, therefore, may conceal lower age for poor women, compared to those better off than them. In other words the poor women, particularly the ultra-poor, do not live as long as their better off counterparts. As regards the 'higher survival advantage' in favour of females the question remains as to what comprises this advantage. Whatever the survival advantage it cannot be equally applicable to the rich and poor because the survival advantage has a lot to do with economic factors and it is well known that these factors are tilted in favour of the better off segment of the cohort. It is therefore, not enough to give average figure for life expectancy without making allowance for economic differences.
According to the BBS report, the crude birth rate (CBR), the simplest measure of fertility, has been estimated at 18.9 per thousand population. The rural CBR, as expected, is higher than the urban CBR. The general fertility rate worked out to 71 per thousand women with 75 in rural areas and 60 in urban areas. But it is the total fertility rate that is important from family planning point of view. It remains at 2.1 per thousand, which is the same as that recorded the previous year. All these measures of fertility indicate that the fertility rate has remained the same over the last five years. As in the case of life expectancy, the fertility rate reported does not reveal any rich-poor differentials. Experience shows that the poor has a higher fertility rate and a lower contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) than the better off indicating the need for a differentiated strategy for family planning.
While the average fertility rate has remained unchanged over the last 5 years the crude death rate has declined from 5.6 in 2010 to 5.2 in 2014. A similar decline has occurred in the infant mortality rate, 36 per thousand live births in 2010 to 30 in 2014. Under-five mortality rate has recorded a decline from 47 deaths per 1000 live births in 2010 to 38 deaths in 2014.
Under-five mortality has recorded a decline from 47 deaths per 1000 live births to 38 deaths in 2014. Maternal mortality has also shown a consistent decline over the past five years. Decline in mortality rates in all categories can be attributed to better health services though these differ among economic classes. The implications of unchanged fertility rate and lower mortality rate are clear : the population is increasing, albeit slowly.
The figures for the BBS study can be compared along with the facts and figures revealed in the report on Human Development Index (HDI) prepared by the United Nations. Like the BBS report the Human Development Report shows marked progress in life expectancy and improvement in child and maternal mortality. In addition, it points out progress in the adoption of new technology which is outside the ambit of the BBS study. The HDI report highlights the need to increase per capita income, employment generation and income inequality.
The UNDP publishes the annual report based on three broad components - a long and healthy life; access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. In 2014 Bangladesh's relative position among 188 countries was 142nd position, the same as the previous year.
This is in spite of an average annual growth of 1.64 per cent in the last two and a half decades. Despite doing well, Bangladesh's rank remained static because other countries fared better in respect of HDI. According to the director of the Human Development Report office of the UNDP Bangladesh is doing well in many sectors but there are gaps. Compared with India and Pakistan Bangladesh is progressing in human development but that does not mean there is no poverty or disparity in income distribution. According to the Human Development report, a decade-wise analysis shows that GDP growth went up from 3.7 per cent in the 1980s to 4.8 per cent in the 1990s. It further grew to 5.8 per cent in the 2000s.
The growth rate is hovering over 6 per cent annually for the past several years. The need to increase per capita income, employment generation and reduce income inequality as pointed out in the UNDP report indicates that human resource development in Bangladesh requires qualitative change. It seems quantitative growth has left behind qualitative improvement. This is in line with some of the findings in the BBS report. To make a turn around what is needed now is improvement in governance and economic management. The trend of human resource development is upward, no doubt. Its momentum has to be heightened.
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