The mortality rate of Bangladeshis has increased, average life expectancy decreased slightly, childbearing rates for women declined, but the number of C-section births rose sharply in the country over the span of one year.
During the period, Bangladesh’s population increased to 17,29,20,000 , and maternal mortality ratio declined significantly. Unfortunately, the mortality rate for children under five years has increased.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) unveiled this data while officially releasing the "Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2023: Key Findings" at the BBS headquarters in Dhaka on Sunday.
This report shows that the life expectancy of Bangladeshi stood at 73.3 years in 2023, compared to 73.4 years recorded in 2022.
Presenting the report, Sample Vital Registration System (SVRS) Project Director Alamgir Hossen however pointed out the data does not indicate a reduction in life expectancy, as it is statistically insignificant.
In 2023, the mortality rate was 6.1 in every 1,000, up from 5.8 in 2022. The mortality rate in men is higher than in women, which is 6.8 in every 1,000 and 5.5 in every 1,000 respectively. The rate in villages is higher at 6.4 in every 1,000, than in cities at 5.2 in every 1,000.
In 2023, the fertility rate per 1,000 in the country stood at 2.17, compared to 2.20 posted in 2022. However, the use of birth control has slightly dropped from 63.3 per cent to 62.1 per cent.
According to the report, the country’s population growth rate has decreased in the space of one year. The normal growth rate of population in 2023 is 1.33 per cent, compared to 1.407 per cent recorded in 2022.
Meanwhile, the rate of Cesarean section deliveries has increased by more than nine percentage points in one year. In 2022, 41.4 per cent of all births were through C-sections, and in 2023 the figure rose to 50.7 per cent.
The rate of natural childbirth has declined from 58.6 per cent in 2022 to 49.3 per cent in 2023.
"This is alarming, and needs further studies to know the real scenario, and cause," Alamgir said.
In the same time, death of children less than 5 years of age also increased in 2023, as 31 children per 1,000 of the age group died back in 2022, while the figure had increased to 33 children in 2023.
Meanwhile, 24 children per 1,000 below one year of age died in 2022, which rose to 27 in 2023, according to SVRS.
The death of children less than one month of age also increased to 20 per 1,000 babies in 2023, compared to 16 posted in 2022. However, the maternal mortality ratio has dropped from 153 to 136 per one lakh live births in 2023, compared to 2022.
According to the BBS, the population of Bangladesh till January 1 this year reached 17,15,90,000 based on Population and Housing Census 2022. Of the total population, 8,73,90,000 are women and 8,42,00,000 are men.
As per the housing census, the country's population was 16,98,28,911, which means the population has increased by 17,61,089. In 2023, the growth rate was 1.04 per cent, which declined to 1.33 per cent in 2023. The population density is now 1,179 per square kilometer.
The data showed that the youths neither studying nor working or taking any kind of training declined slightly from 40.67 per cent in 2022 to 39.88 per cent in 2023.
The literacy rate for the population aged seven years and above was 77.9 per cent in 2023 and for those aged 15 years and above it was a slight increase to 75.6 per cent in 2022 from 74.4 per cent in 2022.
Meanwhile, the expatriate Bangladeshis, who contribute the most to keep the country's economy running, have gone abroad in greater numbers in one year. This rate has increased by 2.17 people per thousand compared to 2022.
Men are going abroad more than women, according to the BBS.
SVRS Project Director Alamgir said the rate of going abroad or international migration is 8.78 people per thousand population in 2023, compared to 6.61 people in 2022. Among them, the rate of men going abroad is 16.39 in 2023, compared to 12.17 in 2022.
On the other hand, the rate of women going abroad was 1.44 in 2023, compared to 1.18 in 2022.
Besides, in 2023, the rate of arrival in Bangladesh from different countries of the world has decreased to 0.60 people. In 2023, the male arrival rate in Bangladesh was 4.36, compared to 5.55 posted in 2022.
On the other hand, the number of women arriving in Bangladesh has neither increased nor decreased compared to 2022. The arrival rate of women in Bangladesh is 0.46. Meanwhile, in the country, the number of people living in sublet has increased.
In 2023, 4.1 per cent of people in the country lived in sublets, compared to 3.3 per cent the previous year. Currently, the sublet occupancy rate in the city is 6 per cent, compared to 5.8 per cent in 2022. The number of sublet providers has also increased.
A total of 0.9 per cent of people rented out sublet in 2023, up from 0.7 per cent in 2022.
Alamgir Hossen said, currently, economic activities in villages have also increased a lot. Villages also now have increased facilities and employment similar to cities. Because of that, the sublet occupancy rate has also increased in rural areas.
Chief Guest of the programme, State Minister for the Ministry of Planning Md Shahiduzzaman Sarkar highlighted the significant decrease in maternal mortality rate and the increase in the literacy rate of the country.
The public welfare that the government is working on can be easily estimated by looking at two indicators, he added.
Statistics and Informatics Division (SID) Secretary Shahnaz Arefin said, “Earlier, important results of Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics were published in June. We were able to reduce this time by three months and publish in March.
“The final report will be published in the current financial year.”
