Home ›› 13 Apr 2023 ›› Front
The poverty rate in Bangladesh declined but the income inequality among the people went up slightly despite a rising per capita monthly income in 2022.
According to the latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the poverty rate went down by 5.6 per cent — to 18.7 per cent — in 2022 from 24.3 per cent in 2016.
In 2022, the rate in rural areas was 20.5 per cent and 14.7 per cent in urban areas, the survey said. The rates were 26.4 per cent and 18.9 per cent, respectively, in 2016.
At the same time, the extreme poverty rate also declined by 7.3 per cent to 5.6 per cent — from 12.9 per cent in 2016.
In 2022, this rate was 6.5 per cent in rural areas and 3.8 per cent in urban areas. These rates were 14.9 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively, in 2016.
BBS revealed the key findings of HIES 2022 at the BBS auditorium in Dhaka on Wednesday.
According to HIES, the average monthly household income in Bangladesh rose to Tk 32,422 in 2022, an increase of more than 102 per cent compared to the last survey conducted six years ago.
In 2016, the average monthly income was Tk 15,988, which was an increase from Tk 11,479 in 2010.
The average monthly household income in rural areas rose to Tk 26,163 in 2022, an 87 per cent hike from Tk 13,998 in 2016.
In the urban areas, it went up to Tk 45,757 in 2022, registering a 102 per cent rise from Tk 22,600 in 2016.
Per capita monthly income
The survey said that the per capita monthly income in the country went up to Tk 7,614 in 2022, marking a 93 per cent increase from Tk 3,940 in 2016.
The per capita monthly income in rural areas rose to Tk 6,091 in 2022, which is 86 per cent higher than Tk 3,261 in 2016.
In urban areas, it went up to Tk 10,951 in 2022, which is 90 per cent higher than Tk 5752 in 2016.
Inequality
Meanwhile, the Gini coefficient — which measures income inequality — increased to 0.499 in 2022, up from 0.482 in 2016 and 0.458 in 2010, the latest HIES said.
This means inequality has risen in the country and those at the bottom now own less than they used to.
A Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 1 implies perfect inequality. Consumption-related Gini coefficient was also up at 0.334 last year, an increase from 0.324 in 2016 and 0.321 in 2010, showed the data.
Monthly household expenditure
As per the HIES, the monthly household expenditure was at Tk 31,500 in 2022, a rise of more than 100.44 per cent from Tk 15,715 in 2016.
Last year, the monthly household expenditure in rural areas was Tk 26,842, which is 89.61 per cent higher than Tk 14,156 in 2016. In urban areas, it was at Tk 41,424 in 2022, registering a 110 per cent rise from Tk 19,697 in 2016.
Consumption expenditure per household
According to the BBS survey, the monthly average household consumption expenditure around the country is estimated at Tk 30,603 in 2022, which is 98 per cent higher than Tk 15,420 in 2016.
In rural areas, the monthly average household consumption expenditure is estimated at Tk 26,207, which is 89 per cent higher than Tk 13,868 in 2016.
In urban areas, it was at Tk 39,971 — which is a rise of more than 106 per cent from Tk 19,383 in 2016.
Average calorie intake
The average calorie intake among people has also increased significantly in Bangladesh.
The calorie intake per person was 2,393 kcal per day in 2022, which was 2,210.4 kcal in 2016 and 2,318.3 kcal per day in 2010.
Food consumption expenditure
According to the survey, the national monthly average food consumption expenditure was estimated at Tk 14,003 in 2022. The estimate for rural areas was Tk 13,125 and Tk 15,875 for urban areas.
Comparatively, in 2016, the average was estimated at Tk 7,354, with the rural expenditure estimated at Tk 7,001 and Tk 8,254 for urban areas.
Non-food consumption expenditure
As per the HIES, the national monthly average non-food consumption expenditure was estimated at Tk 16,600 in 2022. The rural area consumption is estimated at Tk 13,082 and Tk 24,097 for urban areas.
In 2016, the average was estimated at Tk 8,066, with the rural estimation at Tk 6,866 and the urban estimation at Tk 11,129.
Final report by Dec
Project Director Mohiuddin Ahmed said BBS will reveal the preliminary report as early as possible and publish the final report by December.
Enumerators of the project started collecting the data from 14,400 households in 720 sampling areas across the country on January 1 and finished on December 31 in 2022, he said.
In the latest HIES survey, BBS has incorporated a new section for food security in the data collection questionnaire in a bid to ensure more accuracy.
BBS collected data for the 17th HIES through a computerised system for getting quality results aimed at estimating absolute poverty and other income and expenditure data on Bangladeshi citizens, Mohiuddin added.
Planning Minister MA Mannan and State Minister for Planning Prof Shamsul Alam, among other officials concerned, were also present at the survey details unveiling event.
