People of Bangladesh need to spend 26.09 per cent of their non-food expenditure on debt repayment, which takes up the highest amount they spend on other than purchasing food items, according to a new survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Debt repayment expenditure is highest in rural areas, indicating that the villagers are taking more loans to keep their households afloat. They spend 31.10 per cent of their non-food expenditure to repay loans, according to the Food Security Statistics 2023 survey.
In urban areas, 27.39 per cent money of non-food item expenditure goes for loan repayment.
They spend 12.15 per cent, 11.47 per cent and 10.42 per cent, respectively, on medicine, house rent and education nationally.
Interestingly, people living in city corporations are not burdened with loan payments that much. They spend 10.59 per cent on this purpose. They put their money on house rent, which is 38.01 per cent, the highest amount, regardless of city, village or urban and any type of expenditure people make anywhere in the country except food items, according to the survey.
The Food Security Statistics 2023 survey, which was the first of its kind in Bangladesh, was conducted among 29,760 homes across the country in June last year.
Meanwhile, people in Bangladesh need to spend a good chunk of transportation-related goods and services out of total non-food expenditure as transportation costs are high in the country.
At the national level, 17.43 per cent of the money was spent on the transport purpose followed by hygiene items and services, which is 14.72 per cent. The third chunk of money – 14.40 per cent – goes to get electricity and power services, according to the survey.
It shows that in the rural areas highest 16.96 per cent of expenditure was spent on transportation-related goods and services, 15.60 per cent on hygiene-related goods and services, and 15.45 per cent on other minor expenses.
For water purposes, only 0.34 per cent has been spent in rural areas and 4.15 per cent in city corporation areas.
