Home ›› 18 Apr 2023 ›› Front
The average life expectancy of Bangladeshis dropped to 72.3 years in 2021 from 72.8 years in 2020 due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, says a survey.
The findings of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) survey titled “Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2021” were published at a programme at the BBS auditorium in the capital on Monday.
The average life expectancy decreasing by half a year or six months also means women live an average of 3.5 years longer than men. The life expectancy is now 70.6 years for males and 74.1 years for females, the survey noted.
In 2020, the life expectancy of men was 71.2 years and that of women was 74.5 years. Earlier in 2017, the average life expectancy was 72 years for both genders.
Md Alamgir Hossain, the director of the project under which the survey was carried out, said deaths increased 2.5 times during the pandemic, causing the average life expectancy to decrease slightly.
He said the death rate is high among people over 40 years old.
The survey revealed that the number of deaths per 1,000 people increased to 5.7 in 2021, which was 5.1 in 2020. “On the other hand, the crude death rate – the number of deaths occurring during a year per 1000 people – rose from 5.1 years in 2020 to 5.7 years in 2021,” said the project director.
Alamgir also said the reasons for mortality and life expectancy rates could possibly be explained by Covid-19.
According to the BBS, the average life expectancy in Bangladesh was 67.2 years in 2009. Almost three times as many people have died as a result of Covid-19 as official data shows, according to a World Health Organisation report. There were 14.9 million excess deaths associated with Covid-19 by the end of 2021.
Bangladesh’s population stood at 170.26 million in 2021, up from 168.22 million in 2020, Alamgir said.
According to the latest data, the population includes nearly 84.33 million males and 84.19 million females. The intercensal population growth rate was 1.37 per cent.
The country’s population now stands at 16.98 crore as per the Population and Housing Census 2022.
On a positive note, the BBS survey indicates an increase in literacy rate to 76.4 per cent in 2021 from 75.2 per cent in the previous year.
Although the literacy rate of people aged seven years and above has increased slightly, the adult literacy rate has dropped in the country, it said.
The literacy rate of 15-year-olds and older decreased to 74.1 per cent in 2021 from 75.6 per cent a year ago.
On a regional basis, the rate of adult literacy increased slightly in rural areas and decreased in urban areas. Besides, the literacy rate of men fell by 1.2 percentage points to 77 per cent and women’s enrolment rate dropped by 1.8 percentage points to 71.2 per cent.
The project director said the adult literacy rate may have decreased due to the pandemic.
The number of disabled people per thousand stood at 24.1 in 2021, the survey said.
The number of marriages per thousand decreased to 13.5 in 2021 from 15.3 in 2020. The number of marriages in rural areas per thousand was 14.7 in 2021 while it was 17.7 in 2020. The number of marriages in urban areas per thousand was 9.6 in 2021 and 12.2 in 2020.
Planning Minister MA Mannan asked BBS to publish such survey reports by the first quarter of next year.
“The bureau should complete the survey every year and publish the report by the first quarter of next year. The statistical authorities should not delay the publication,” the minister said at the programme.
He also said BBS should conduct such surveys regularly instead of undertaking projects.
Among others, State Minister for Planning Prof Shamsul Alam and BBS Director General Md Matiar Rahman spoke on the occasion.
