MNA Exclusive Desk: Bangladesh’s poverty rate has dropped 7.2 percentage points to 24.3 percent in six years, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
The initial findings of the 2016 Household Income and Expenditure Survey were announced at the BBS Conference Centre on Tuesday in the presence of Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted the survey between April 2016 and March 2017. The previous survey was done in 2010.
According to the latest survey results, the poverty rate in rural areas was 26.4 percent, while urban poverty was 18.9 percent. The current rate of extreme poverty is 12.9 percent, compared to 17.6 percent six years ago.
The poverty rate in the 2010 survey was 31.5 percent. In rural areas, the poverty rate was 35.2 percent and in urban areas 21.3 percent.”
The latest survey also found that average monthly income stood at Tk 15,945. In rural areas, the monthly income was Tk 13,353, while it was Tk 22,565 in urban areas. In 2010, the average monthly income was Tk 11,479.
Average monthly expenditure stands at Tk 15,915. In rural areas, the average is Tk 14,156, while it is Tk 19,697 in urban areas. The average monthly expenditure in the 2010 survey was Tk 11,200.