Over the past four years, an additional eight million people in Bangladesh have fallen into poverty. This worrying trend comes from a new report by the World Bank. The report is called the Bangladesh Development Update.
The World Bank states that Bangladesh’s poverty rate has climbed for four years straight. In 2022, the poverty rate was 18.7 percent. It rose to 18.9 percent in 2023, with another 800,000 people becoming poor.
By 2024, the rate reached 20.5 percent. An additional 3.7 million people fell into poverty that year. For 2025, the rate went above 21 percent, adding 1.4 million more poor people. This year, a further 2.1 million people have fallen into poverty, pushing the rate to 22.5 percent. The World Bank predicts the rate could reach 22.9 percent by the end of the current financial year.
High inflation and slow job growth are the main reasons for this rise. People’s real incomes have decreased. This means their money buys less than before.
About 62 million people live just above the poverty line. They are very vulnerable. Any economic shock, like natural disasters or rising prices, could push them into poverty.
Selim Raihan is the executive director of SANEM, a research group. Mr. Raihan said the World Bank report shows a troubling situation. He pointed to high inflation, especially food prices. Weak private investment and lack of good jobs also hurt families. Most jobs are in the informal sector. A single event like losing a job or illness can make many families poor.
Bangladesh made great progress in reducing poverty for two decades. The rate fell from 48.9 percent in 2001 to 18 percent in 2022. However, this progress stopped after 2022. The poverty rate began to rise instead.
Based on government data from 2022, at least 47.5 million people now live in poverty. World Bank estimates suggest this number could be around 55 million. A person is considered poor if they cannot afford basic food and other needs. This includes enough food to provide an average of 2,122 calories a day.
The social protection system helps people after they become poor. It does not do enough to prevent them from falling into poverty. Mr. Raihan believes policies should focus on creating jobs and increasing real incomes. They must also protect vulnerable people more effectively.
Other research groups have also warned about rising poverty in Bangladesh. However, the government has not collected updated official data since 2022. This means there are no new official figures on the current poverty situation.
