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Bangladesh's population census has uncovered a historic shift, marking the first time females outnumber males in the country. The country now has 16,98,28,911 people and of them 8,41,34,003 are men, 8,56,86,784 are women and 8,124 are hermaphrodites.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) published the 'National Report' of the Population and Housing Census 2022 on Tuesday providing a detailed look into the nation's changing demographic landscape. The preliminary report was published in July last where the total population was counted 16,51,58,616.
To ensure accuracy, a Post Enumeration Check (PEC) survey was conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) after the census operation. This survey found a Net Coverage Error (NCE) of 2.75 per cent, leading to adjustments in the enumerated population figures.
Findings of the national report of the first digital census were shared at a programme at the BBS office in the capital where Planning Minister MA Mannan, Planning Commission member (senior secretary) Mst Nasima Begum, Statistics and Informatics Division Secretary Dr Shahnaz Arefin, and General Economics Division (GED) member of the Planning Commission Dr MdKawser Ahmed spoke with Director General of the BBS Mohammad Mizanur Rahman in the chair.
The final report reveals that 68.34 per cent of the total population resides in rural areas, with the remaining 31.66% in urban areas. The census also sheds light on specific demographics, such as the 17,36,302 people residing in slum areas and the 22,185 individuals classified as part of the floating population.
This census marks a significant shift as it transitioned to a digital format for the first time. Dildar Hossain, project director of the BBS’s Population and Housing Census 2022, highlighted the utilisation of the Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) method, emphasising the efficiency and accuracy it brought to the data collection process.
The census highlights a trend of slowing population growth over the past four decades, with the average annual growth rate decreasing from 1.48 per cent in 2011 to 1.22 per cent in 2022. The growth rate for males is 1.12 per cent and 1.31 per cent for females.
The total population of the city corporation areas is 2,11,22,930, of which male is 1,12,18,546 (53.11 per cent), female 99,02,995 (46.88 per cent) and hijra 1,389 (0.007 per cent). In the case of density, Dhaka South City Corporation is recorded as the most densely populated area where 39,406 people live per square kilometre. By division the highest number of the population, 4,42,15,759 live in Dhaka while the lowest, 91,00,104 in Barishal.
Analysis of the age distribution reveals that 10.03 per cent of the total population falls within the 15-19 age group. Gender ratios, sex distribution, and age-specific percentages, such as 28.60 per cent below 15 years, contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the nation's demographic landscape.
It is found that the percentages of the population living in general institutional and other households are 97.03, 1.52 and 1.45 respectively. In the case of general households, the percentages of male-headed and female-headed households are 82.10 and 17.90 respectively.
On the contrary, analysing the figures by cumulative percentages, it is found that the population below 15 years and 30 years, and 60 years are 28.60 per cent and 56.42 per cent and 90.73 per cent, respectively.
At the national level, the sex ratio is evident at 98.07, the dependency ratio at 52.63 and the child-woman ratio at 332.38. At the national level, out of the population aged 10 years and above, the currently married population is 65.08 per cent and never married 28.82 per cent.
It is observed from the data that, the percentages of Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and other religions are – 91.08 per cent, 7.96 per cent, 0.61 per cent, 0.30 per cent and 0.06 per cent respectively. The total number of persons with disabilities is reported as 22,65,201, which is 1.37 per cent of the total population.
The literacy rate of the population aged 7 years and above at the national level is 74.80 per cent which is 76.71 per cent for males and 72.94 per cent for females. In rural areas, the rate is 71.68 per cent while it is 81.45 per cent in the urban areas for the same age group.
The total number of ethnic minority population in the country is 16,50,478 of which male is 49.98 per cent and female 50.02 per cent.
The total number of households in the country stands at 4,10,08,217 of which 2,78,19,445 are in rural areas and 1,31,88,772 in urban areas.
Across Bangladesh, 99.24 per cent of households have come under electricity coverage. It is apparent that, in total, 59.31 per cent of households use wood/chalk/chopped wood as the main source of cooking fuel, followed by supply gas with 14.18 per cent, which is the second highest.
The total number of remittance recipient households is recorded at 39,50,155, of which the highest, 42.43 per cent is accounted for in the Chattogram division. The average size of households has decreased to 3.98 in 2022 which was 5.6 in 1974. The four-member households score the highest, with 1,04,60,083, in the country, which is 25.98 per cent of the total.
According to the previous census in 2011, the country's population was 144,043,697.
Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that he was satisfied with the overall findings of the census adding that the capacity of the BBS has increased over the years on the whole.
Mannan also suggested conducting the population census operations every five years and if possible in real-time instead of conducting it every 10 years.
Economist Dr Ahsan H Mansoor, while commenting on the national report, said that the BBS has done a tremendous job and now it is high time to translate the findings of the census into the government policies.
In order to let the BBS operate freely and independently, the eminent economist suggested that the BBS should be entrusted under the jurisdiction of the Jatiya Sangsad. "If it is done, people’s trust in the BBS will increase further."
GED member Md Kawser Ahmed recommended revealing data by the various bodies in a harmonised manner in a bid to avoid differences in number.
