Definitions of population on the Web:

• the people who inhabit a territory or state; "the population seemed to

be well fed and clothed"
• a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting a given area;
"they hired hunters to keep down the deer population"
• (statistics) the entire aggregation of items from which samples can be
drawn; "it is an estimate of the mean of the population"
• the number of inhabitants (either the total number or the number of a
particular race or class) in a given place (country or city etc. ...
• the act of populating (causing to live in a place); "he deplored the
population of colonies with convicted criminals"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• In statistics, a statistical population is a set of entities concerning which
statistical inferences are to be drawn, often based on a random ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_(statistics)
• Population is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock band
The Most Serene Republic. It was recorded and mixed by Ryan Mills,
Mike Kuehn and Ryan Lenssen at Sleepytown Sound in Toronto. The
album was released on October 2, 2007 through Arts & Crafts. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_(album)
• [[Image:World population growth - time between each billion-person
growth.jpg|350px|thumb|Time taken for each billion people to be added
to the ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population
• The peopling of a place; The people living within a political or
geographical boundary; A collection of organisms of a particular
species ...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/population
• (1) the whole number of inhabitants in a country, region or area; (2) a
set of individuals having a quality or characteristic in common.
www.nrdc.org/reference/glossary/p.asp
• A group of individuals of one species, which live in a particular area
and are much more likely to breed with one another than with
individuals from another such group.
symposia.cbc.amnh.org/archives/seascapes/glossary.html
• The total of all individuals in a given area.
www.sanantonio.gov/HEALTH/pdf/healthprofiles/hp2005/Glossary.doc
• All people, male and female, child and adult, living in a given
geographic area. Related terms: Apportionment population, Resident
population Population density Total population or number of housing
units within a geographic entity (for example, United States, state,
county, place) divided by ...
atlas.library.arizona.edu/glossaryk_p.htm
• The population is the universe of all possible values we want
information about. If the population is "all compact cars," measuring
 the gas mileage for every car yields a population mean of 26.2 mpg (or
= 26.2 mpg).
math.lanecc.edu/math/Sim/SPCReview/Pages_SPC/Glossary.htm
• the number of people who live in a place.
postalheritage.org.uk/learning/teachers/freeresources/pennyblack/histo
ry/glossary

Population
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Population (disambiguation).

Distribution of world population in 1994.

Time taken for each billion people to be added to the world's population (including future
estimates). See also alt. chart .

In biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular

species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share
a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague
to imply anything. Demography is used extensively in marketing, which relates to
economic units, such as retailers, to potential customers. For example, a coffee shop that
wants to sell to a younger audience looks at the demographics of an area to be able to
appeal to this younger audience.

A Brief History of the Bangladesh Community

According to the 1991 census the Bangladeshi community in Birmingham numbered over nearly 13,000.
This is quite a significant number for a relatively recently arrived ethnic group. By 2001 there were 20,836
people of Bangladeshi ethnicity living in Birmingham according to the 2001 Population Census. This
represents 2.1% of the population of the City and an increase of around 7,000. Just over half of Birmingham
residents describing their ethnicity as Bangladeshi were born outside the UK. The majority were born in
Bangladesh.
Beginnings

A number of Bengalis began to arrive in the city in the late 1950s

Bangladeshi Boys in Balsall Heath c.1960
and early 1960s. Most were from the rural area of Sylhet, in
Bangladesh. They were mostly men who aimed to work and send
money back home to their families. Many of the men that came
over were seamen. However, most of them found work in the
factories of inner city Birmingham. They often lived in crowded
houses, near to the factories. The areas of Lozells , Aston and
Balsall Heath had a lot of Bangladeshis in the late 1950s and early
1960s. They settled there because property was cheap being of
poor standard. However in 1971, a survey for the Race Relations
Institute found that few of them wanted to move. One account of the
time says: "Because of the overcrowding, my uncle and Abdul
Jabbar bought the next door house. Soon the situation
returned with a population of twenty or so in the two houses.
Admittedly our houses were not always up to standard. We
were all men, all working in heavy industry and all working
overtime. When we came home we were already tired but had
to do our cooking and cleaning. It was still "Home, Sweet
Home" to us".

Work and Education

With poor language skills, due to lack of education in

Bangladesh, educational and career prospects were limited.
Some Bangladeshi boys began to work part time in
relative's restaurants . Many left school at the earliest
opportunity to earn money and got married young. A cycle
of low pay and few career opportunities had begun.
White workers had begun to reject the unskilled and heavy
jobs which were vital to the local metal-bashing industries,
so immigrants began to fill the gaps. Some companies like
Delta Metal Works in Dartmouth Street, BSA and Morris
Motors took the workers on.
By the late 1970s a recession made smaller factories close
down and unskilled labourers such as Bangladeshi men
found themselves unemployed.
However some of the commuity then became employed in
the catering industry, a great many working in "Indian
Restaurants" which are really Bangladeshi owned. The
A Bangladeshi Balti - Bilash Balti -Kingstanding 1997 number of restaurants has continued to grow. Today there
are about 500 Asian caterers in Birmingham employing about 4,000 workers. The majority of them are
Bangladeshi owned and run.

Community life

For some of the population the feeling of community continues today. Many families shop in specific areas
like the Stratford, Coventry , Soho and Alum Rock Roads. The youth try to adapt to their Birmingham
background whilst facing pressures from their extended families to retain Bangladeshi Muslim culture.
Over the years community and religious groups have sprung up to help the community in some way, trying
to replicate the communal village life such as the Sylheti seamen left behind on their journeys to Aston,
Balsall Heath and Saltley.
Topic Area: Fertility Control
Geographic Area: Bangladesh
Focal Question: Is Bangladesh's Method of Fertility Control Adequate for
Sustainability?
Sources:
(1) J. Chowdhury, Ruhul Amin, and A.U. Amhed, "Poor Women's Participation in Income
Generating Projects and their Fertility Regulation in Rural Bangladesh: Evidence From a
Recent Survey", World Development, April 1994, p 555-564.
Reviewer: Caitlin P. Lane, Colby College '96
Review:

The 1974 World Population Conference in Bucharest ,the 1984 International Conference
on Population in Mexico, and the 1994 International Conference on Population and
Development in Cairo have stressed the integration of population policies with
development policy. Population control as a means of sustainable development in
Bangladesh has become a major issue. This particular study concludes that "the
participation in income-generating projects by poor rural women has led to an increased
level of contraceptive use as well as a decreased level of desire for additional children".
In Bangladesh, an ever-growing number of both governmental and nongovernmental
organizations (the Grameen Bank, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee and
the Bangladesh Rural Development Board) have begun programs in the quest towards
sustainable fertility rates.

This study identifies three main justifications for these projects (helping to decrease
fertility) in developing countries. The program can relieve the women of a condition of
extreme social and psychological dependence. Physical and social isolation is common
due to the system of female seclusion in rural Bangladesh. Second, it could enable the
women to gain social support and acceptance of any decision to have fewer children. This
behavior is commonly dissuaded by the hostile environment within and beyond her
household. Finally, a combination of peer group support and cohesion is created through
group formation and interaction. This works to alter women's knowledge and attitude, as
well as to support their decision making concerning reproduction.

All income-generating projects by these three agencies have a population education

component designed to encourage lower fertility rates. Programs to assist the poor
through the use of collateral-free loans have become quite popular in Bangladesh since
the late 1980's. Relying on peer pressure to encourage repayment, such programs have
been successful, as loan recovery rates range between 96% and 100%. Results show that
credit provision has been associated with productive self-employment, increase in
income, accumulation of capital, and meeting basic needs of the poor loanees. A variety
of income-generating activities are undertaken by participating women in order to pay
back the loans. Such activities include: paddy husking, poultry raising, weaving, goat-
raising and horticulture. In addition, other complementary government financed social
development activities such as sanitation, health care, nutrition, functional education, and
population education are emphasized by all three programs.

Family planning is actively and routinely promoted in group meetings, loan workshops,
and training sessions which are financed by the agencies. A group of women constituting
a loan group are neighbors from the same village, and are likely to be aware of each
other's fertility and fertility decisions. There is great pressure from within the group to
have a high loan recovery rate, to avoid the penalty of disqualification from loan
entitlement or expulsion from the group in the event of noncompliance with group
objectives. The programs also encourage groups to set aside funds which may be used by
individual members in times of crisis. The most important influences on women's fertility
attitudes and behaviors are the group meetings, and training sessions, in which both loan
recipients and program staff openly exchange ideas. Women are likely to break their
cultural resistance to change through this exposure to new ideas, role models, and
lifestyles.

This case study is based on a 1992 household sample survey of 2,285 female recipients
(as well as 1,168 counterpart nonbeneficiaries) of collateral-free loans from three
relatively large rural development agencies in Bangladesh. The comparison group of
nonbeneficiaries came from neighboring geographic areas with similar communication
facilities and socioeconomic characteristics such as literacy rate, topography, access to
electric power, and presence of other developmental programs. Only married women
within the reproductive age group of 14 and 49 were selected. Following a random
selection process, 3,453 total women were selected and interviewed. The survey, funded
by US agency for International Development (USAID), collected detailed information on
the women's socioeconomic backgrounds, their income generating activities, and their
knowledge, attitudes, and practices of family planning.

The dependent variable was contraceptive (temporary, permanent, male, female) use,
using a code of one if a couple is currently using a contraceptive and zero if they are not.
The study controlled for various socioeconomic and demographic background variables
that may affect the results. These independent variables were: the number of living
children, years of schooling, age, ownership of assets, and husband's occupation. The
study used "a logistic regression applied in multivariate analyses".

Results show that knowledge of contraceptive methods (through the population education
component and group meetings with staff members) and the desire for no more children
were higher among the beneficiaries of income-generating projects compared to
nonbeneficiaries. About 60% of the beneficiaries were current users of contraceptives,
compared to about 38% use by nonbeneficiaries. Also, about 80% of the beneficiaries
desired no more children, while only 63% of nonbeneficiaries shared the same desire.
The income generating projects led to an increase in contraceptive use regardless of their
population education components. Over 50% who did not participate in their population
education components were current users of contraceptives, compared to 38.4% of the
nonbeneficiaries. This suggests that the income-generating projects have an independent
effect on the demand for fertility regulation and contraceptive. This effect is stronger than
the results from population education activities. The positive effects of income generating
projects and their education component dealing with contraceptive use is more significant
than the effect of other socioeconomic variables such as the women's education,
husband's education, or possession of modern consumer items.

Establishing a way to draw poor women out of their traditional female confinement
within the households and providing opportunities for female income-generating
activities, has lead to increased contraceptive use and desire for decreased family size.
These effects were much higher than have been achieved by the existing national family
planning program of Bangladesh (Amin et al., 1993). The women's low socioeconomic
position has been more than compensated by the opportunities received from the projects.
Many reasons have been offered for this. Population education components of the
projects through small group meetings helped the women by providing face to face
information about fertility regulation. Also, people trusted the projects as they realized
they had taken care of the basic economic survival needs of the poor women. Many view
the staffs of the income generating projects as being more credible than the usual health
or family planning groups. Third, the requirement of group formation, led to pressure for
members to comply to the group's norms of smaller family size. The possibility that
additional children by a member will reduce a members ability to repay loans, for which
the group is jointly liable, may reinforce the group influence on fertility regulation.
Finally, education or skill training may inadvertently influence fertility regulation by
changing their clients' ideas and perspectives.

The income generating projects have achieved remarkable success among a population
that has been ignored by conventional development programs. This success has been
achieved by a self-sustaining approach of repayable loan programs. This approach of
joint rural development and population control would also raise the standard of living of
the large populations which are close to or below the subsistence level. Bangladesh
appears to be on its way towards achieving an economically, as well as socially,
sustainable fertility rate.

Over the last 10 years Bangladesh has made impressive gains in key human development indicators.
In the 2004 UNDP Human Development Report, Bangladesh ranked 138 among 177 countries with an
HDI score of 0.509, which places it among countries considered to have achieved medium human
development. This is the result of macroeconomic stability, low population growth, increase in women’s
empowerment, reduction in aid dependence, food self-sufficiency, effective disaster management
capacity, promoting non-governmental organisations (NGOs), free and fair parliamentary elections, a
vibrant, pluralist, democratic civil society marked by cultural activism and developmental debates, and an
active and free press.

Through the adoption and implementation of sound policies and strategies, Bangladesh has managed to
sustain a large measure of economic stability and macroeconomic growth. Throughout the 1990s, the
economy grew by an average of 4.75 percent per year. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita has
grown steadily from US$ 273 in 1990-91 to US$ 441 (or $1400 in PPP). As a result, the Human Poverty
Index for Bangladesh fell from 61 in 1983 to 42.2, an achievement that was all the more remarkable given
that the pace of income poverty reduction was only one percent point per year. Nonetheless 63 million
people continue to live below the poverty line. There has, however, been a steep decline in the number of
hardcore poor from 36.75 percent in 1983-83 to just under twenty percent or approximately 30 million
people. Despite these significant achievements, much will need to be done to ensure the right to survival
and to achieve the MDG target of halving the proportion of the poor, and the hungry and malnourished.

The UNDP Gender Development Index (GDI) for 2004 ranked Bangladesh 110 among 144 countries, an
increase of 13 positions since 1999. This improvement reflects a closing of the gap between men and
women in key indicators such as life expectancy. However, a GEM ranking of 76 shows continued low levels
of female representation in government, in decision-making positions and in ownership of economic assets.
A significant gender disparity persists in both income and human poverty, especially at the lower end of
income distribution. The female disadvantage in child mortality has remained persistent, while the female-
male gap in acute malnutrition has increased over the past decade. On average the incidence of severe
malnutrition among girls under five is 2-4 percent higher than among boys. Similarly, compared to male-
headed households, female-headed households are more likely to be living in extreme poverty. Overall,
Bangladesh’s performance with regard to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment (MDG 4)
remains mixed. There has been a narrowing of the gender gap in most social MDG indicators in general and
in the education sector in particular, where, as a result of targeted government policies, female enrolment
rates in primary and secondary schools exceeds those for males. However, in other areas such as economic
and political participation and adult literacy, much still remains to be done to ensure the rights to survival,
livelihood and participation.

Significant investments in disaster preparedness, including the development of early warning systems and
the creation of a wide network of flood and cyclone shelters, has seen a significant decrease in the number
of lives lost each year. However, natural disasters are still responsible for significant property losses with
major consequences for the poor. There is therefore scope for continued improvement in terms of disaster
mitigation and recovery that is targeted to the most vulnerable populations.

Bangladesh has made significant strides in lowering its population growth rates. The current population is
estimated at around 140 million. While total fertility rates have been in decline over the last twenty years, this
decline appears to have plateaued though further research is required to identify the exact causes. Since
1996 a gradual increase in TFR among poorer households has been observed. A number of factors that
could explain this increase include low educational levels, continued son preference, high infant mortality,
weak implementation of gender rights and the lack of alternative economic opportunities.

Infant mortality has declined steadily from 92 per thousand live births in 1992 to 53 in 2002. Similarly, under-
five mortality rate (U5MR) has declined from 144 per thousand live births in 1990 to 76 in 2002. There
continue to be urban-rural differences in under-five mortality rates and a small difference in mortality rates
between boys and girls. In order for Bangladesh to maintain progress towards meeting the child and infant
mortality goals laid out in the MDGs a number of trends need to be sustained. This includes continuing to
expand immunisation coverage to reach marginalized and hard-to-reach population and consolidating and
strengthening efforts to control diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections. Increased attention is
also required to further reduce neonatal mortality by ensuing that all pregnant mothers have access to
antenatal care, skilled birth attendants and to emergency obstetric care. Maternal mortality remains very
high at around 320 per hundred thousand live births. Poor nutrition, poverty and a lack of access to health
services contribute to some 20,000 maternal deaths each year.

Despite improvements in antenatal care, it will be a challenge to meet the goal of reducing MMR to 140 by
2015 because of a number of demographic trends. A third of Bangladesh’s population falls within the age
group of 10-24 years. Nearly half the adolescent girls (15-19 years) are married, 57 percent become
mothers before the age of 19, and half of all adolescent mothers are acutely malnourished. Efforts to provide
adolescent girls with greater access to higher education through scholarship and stipend programmes while
proven to be effective, will nonetheless take several years to have a meaningful impact on fertility rates, and
by extension, MMR rates.
Bangladesh’s success in increasing primary school enrolment has been one of the most notable
achievements of the last fifteen years and has played an important role in raising the country’s HDR scores.
The gross enrolment rate in primary education in 2002 was 97 percent, though enrolment rates in urban
slums and the CHT remain significantly lower. Bangladesh has more or less achieved gender parity in
education at the primary school level. Despite these positive developments, one in five children are still not
enrolled in school. Furthermore, while two thirds of those enrolled complete the five-year primary school
cycle, upwards of 25 percent of children drop out before reaching the fifth grade though this is a significant
improvement over the 38 percent drop out rate recorded in 1995. Under the most optimistic scenario of
population stabilization by 2035, Bangladesh will need some US$1.7 billion to maintain current momentum
and to achieve the MDG 2 by 2015. Thus, without significantly increased investments in the education
sector, it is clear that ensuring the right to a secure livelihood will remain a challenge.

The 1999-2000 Labour Force Survey estimates that of the 74.2 million working age population (15 - 64
years), about 21.6 percent are employed for wages and salaries, a two percent increase since the 1995-96
LFS. However, while 33.9 percent of men work for wages, only 8.4 percent of women receive some form of
remuneration. There are an estimated 7.4 million working children out of which 3.2 million children are child
labourers. Twenty four percent of the working population is self-employed. Unemployment rates in
Bangladesh, estimated at 4.3 percent, are comparatively low due to pervasive under-employment and the
large number of people considered to be out of the labour force. Unemployment rates are high among the
youth, especially among young men under the age of 30.

There has been a significant increase in the reports of violence across Bangladesh. Accurate information
regarding the nature and extent of violence in the country remains scarce due to lack of data. There is,
however, an emerging “culture of violence” which is of rising concern. Violence within the family remains the
most under-reported crime in Bangladesh. Cases of marital violence are routinely labelled as “domestic
disputes”, and as such do not merit assistance within families, let alone police intervention. This reflects,
among other things, the existing patrimonial social structures that force woman into passive acceptance of
violence. According to government statistics, one woman is subjected to violence every hour.

Though the Bangladesh Constitution is committed to the equality of rights of all citizens, there still remain
significant sections of the population who are unable to realise their right to development. A part of the
process will necessarily involve ensuring that the most marginalised and vulnerable groups – women,
minorities, children and others – do not get left behind amidst an overall positive scenario. It is also
important to focus on the guarantee of human security with the basic norms of justice as a pre-condition for
human development. The commitment to a transparent government through the use of information
technology for development is one means of promoting accountability. The decentralisation of administrative
and financial responsibilities would help to accelerate the process. These are all important steps towards
ensuring that citizens have ownership over the development process. Finally, it is necessary to focus on the
crosscutting issues of good governance and environmental sustainability to ensure the achievement of the
MDGs and national development objectives. In the circumstances, one of the biggest challenges to the
Government remains ensuring the right to participation and protection of the people of Bangladesh.

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2007/2008 Human Development Report

Bangladesh

The Human Development Index - going beyond income

Each year since 1990 the Human Development Report has published the human
development index (HDI) which looks beyond GDP to a broader definition of well-being.
The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development:
living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured
by adult literacy and enrolment at the primary, secondary and tertiary level) and having a
decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income). The index
is not in any sense a comprehensive measure of human development. It does not, for
example, include important indicators such as gender or income inequality and more
difficult to measure indicators like respect for human rights and political freedoms. What
it does provide is a broadened prism for viewing human progress and the complex
relationship between income and well-being.
The HDI for Bangladesh is 0.547, which gives the country a rank of 140th out of 177
countries with data (Table 1).

Table 1: Bangladesh’s human development index 2005

Combined primary,
Adult literacy
Life expectancy at secondary and
rate GDP per capita
HDI value birth tertiary gross
(% ages 15 and (PPP US$)
(years) enrolment ratio
older)
(%)
1. Iceland 1. Georgia 1. Luxembourg
1. Japan (82.3) 1. Australia (113.0)
(0.968) (100.0) (60,228)
138. Lesotho 126. Mauritania 126. Nepal 137. Equatorial 136. Sudan
(0.549) (63.2) (48.6) Guinea (58.1) (2,083)
127. Lao People's 127. Central
139. Congo 137. Uzbekistan
Democratic African 138. Nigeria (56.2)
(0.548) (2,063)
Republic (63.2) Republic (48.6)
140. 128.
128. Bangladesh 139. Bangladesh 138. Bangladesh
Bangladesh Bangladesh
(63.1) (56.0) (2,053)
(0.547) (47.5)
141. 139. Lao People's
129. Solomon 129. Bhutan
Swaziland 140. Yemen (55.2) Democratic
Islands (63.0) (47.0)
(0.547) Republic (2,039)
142. Nepal 130. Turkmenistan 130. Senegal 140. Zimbabwe
141. Togo (55.0)
(0.534) (62.6) (39.3) (2,038)
177. Sierra 139. Burkina
177. Zambia (40.5) 172. Niger (22.7) 174. Malawi (667)
Leone (0.336) Faso (23.6)
Figure 1:
The human development index gives a more complete picture than income
This year’s HDI, which refers to 2005, highlights the very large gaps in well-being and
life chances that continue to divide our increasingly interconnected world. By looking at
some of the most fundamental aspects of people’s lives and opportunities it provides a
much more complete picture of a country's development than other indicators, such as
GDP per capita. Figure 2 illustrates that countries on the same level of HDI as
Bangladesh can have very different levels of income.

Of the components of the HDI, only income and gross enrolment are somewhat
responsive to short term policy changes. For that reason, it is important to examine
changes in the human development index over time.

The human development index trends tell an important story in that aspect. Since the
mid-1970s almost all regions have been progressively increasing their HDI score (Figure
2). East Asia and South Asia have accelerated progress since 1990. Central and Eastern
Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), following a catastrophic
decline in the first half of the 1990s, has also recovered to the level before the reversal.
The major exception is sub-Saharan Africa. Since 1990 it has stagnated, partly because of
economic reversal but principally because of the catastrophic effect of HIV/AIDS on life
expectancy.
Figure 2: HDI Trends
Human poverty in Bangladesh: focusing on the most deprived in
multiple dimensions of poverty

The HDI measures the average progress of a country in human development. The Human
Poverty Index for developing countries (HPI-1), focuses on the proportion of people
below a threshold level in the same dimensions of human development as the human
development index - living a long and healthy life, having access to education, and a
decent standard of living. By looking beyond income deprivation, the HPI-1 represents a
multi-dimensional alternative to the $1 a day (PPP US$) poverty measure.

The HPI-1 value of 40.5 for Bangladesh, ranks 93rd among 108 developing countries for
which the index has been calculated.

The HPI-1 measures severe deprivation in health by the proportion of people who are not
expected to survive age 40. Education is measured by the adult illiteracy rate. And a
decent standard of living is measured by the unweighted average of people without
access to an improved water source and the proportion of children under age 5 who are
underweight for their age. Table 2 shows the values for these variables for Bangladesh
and compares them to other countries.

Table 2: Selected indicators of human poverty for Bangladesh

Human Probability of not Adult illiteracy People without Children
 access to an underweight for
Poverty Index surviving past age rate (%ages 15
improved water age (% ages 0-5)
(HPI-1) 2004 40 (%) 2004 and older) 2004
source (%)2004 2004
1. Barbados 1. Czech
1. Iceland (1.4) 1. Estonia (0.2) 1. Thailand (1)
(3.0) Republic (1)
80. Central
91. Zimbabwe 120. Solomon 151. Nepal
African Republic 132. India (47)
(40.3) Islands (16.1) (51.4)
(25)
152. Central
92. Côte 121. Turkmenistan
African 81. Ghana (25) 133. Nepal (48)
d'Ivoire (40.3) (16.2)
Republic (51.4)
93. Bangladesh 122. Bangladesh 153. Bangladesh 82. Bangladesh 134. Bangladesh
(40.5) (16.4) (52.5) (26) (48)
94. Gambia 123. Guyana 154. Bhutan
83. Rwanda (26)
(40.9) (16.6) (53.0)
124. Lao People's
95. Timor- 155. Senegal
Democratic 84. Djibouti (27)
Leste (41.8) (60.7)
Republic (16.6)
108. Chad 173. Zimbabwe 164. Burkina
125. Ethiopia (78)
(56.9) (57.4) Faso (76.4)

Building the capabilities of women

The HDI measures average achievements in a country, but it does not incorporate the
degree of gender imbalance in these achievements. The gender-related development
index (GDI), introduced in Human Development Report 1995, measures achievements in
the same dimensions using the same indicators as the HDI but captures inequalities in
achievement between women and men. It is simply the HDI adjusted downward for
gender inequality. The greater the gender disparity in basic human development, the
lower is a country's GDI relative to its HDI.

Bangladesh's GDI value, 0.539 should be compared to its HDI value of 0.547. Its GDI
value is 98.5% of its HDI value. Out of the 156 countries with both HDI and GDI values,
107 countries have a better ratio than Bangladesh's.

Table 3 shows how Bangladesh’s ratio of GDI to HDI compares to other countries, and
also shows its values for selected underlying values in the calculation of the GDI.

Table 3: The GDI compared to the HDI – a measure of gender disparity

Adult literacy rate (% Combined primary,
Life expectancy at
GDI as % of HDI ages 15 and older) secondary and tertiary gross
birth(years) 2004
2004 enrolment ratio2004
Female as % male Female as % male Female as % male
1. Maldives 1. Russian 1. Lesotho (122.5%) 1. United Arab Emirates
 Federation
(100.4%) (126.0%)
(123.1%)
106. United Arab 172. Tonga
121. Nigeria (76.9%) 101. Ukraine (101.5%)
Emirates (98.5%) (102.8%)
107. United States 173. Timor-Leste
122. Iraq (76.3%) 102. Paraguay (101.4%)
(98.5%) (102.7%)
108. Bangladesh 174. Bangladesh 123. Bangladesh
103. Bangladesh (101.2%)
(98.5%) (102.7%) (75.7%)
109. Zimbabwe 175. Namibia 124. Cambodia
104. Andorra (101.2%)
(98.5%) (102.6%) (75.6%)
110. Austria 176. Swaziland
125. Algeria (75.5%) 105. Saudi Arabia (101.1%)
(98.5%) (102.6%)
156. Yemen 194. Niger 152. Afghanistan
194. Afghanistan (55.3%)
(92.7%) (96.9%) (29.2%)

The gender empowerment measure (GEM) reveals whether women take an active part in
economic and political life. It tracks the share of seats in parliament held by women; of
female legislators, senior officials and managers; and of female professional and
technical workers- and the gender disparity in earned income, reflecting economic
independence. Differing from the GDI, the GEM exposes inequality in opportunities in
selected areas.

Bangladesh ranks 81st out of 93 countries in the GEM, with a value of 0.379.

Fighting climate change

As a result of past emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases
(GHGs), the world is now on course for future climate change. This year’s Human
Development Report identifies 2ºC as the threshold above which irreversible and
dangerous climate change will become unavoidable. It also explains why we have less
than a decade to change course and start living within a sustainable global carbon budget
identified at 14.5 gigatonnes of CO2 (Gt CO2) per annum for the remainder of the 21st
Century. Currently, emissions are running at twice this level. If these trends continue, the
carbon budget will be set for expiry during the 2030's, setting in motion processes that
can lead to temperature increases of 5ºC or above by the end of this century---roughly
similar to temperature changes since the last ice age 10,000 years ago.

With 2.4% of the world's population, Bangladesh accounts for 0.1% of global emissions -
an average of 0.3 tonnes of CO2 per person. These emission levels are below those of
South Asia (table 4).

High-income OECD countries meanwhile lead the league of "CO2 transgressors". With
just 15% of the world’s population, they account for almost half of all emissions. If the
entire world emitted like High-income OECD countries -an average of 13.2 tonnes of
CO2 per person, we would be emitting 6 times our sustainable carbon budget.
Bangladesh has signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol. As a non-Annex I Party to the
Protocol, Bangladesh is not bound by specific targets for greenhouse gas emissions.

Table 4: Carbon dioxide emissions

CO2 CO2
CO2 emissions
Total emissions emissions Population
per
emissions(MtCO2) annual share of world share(%)
capita(tCO2)
change(%) total(%)
CO2 emitters 1990 2004 1990-2004 1990 2004 2004 1990 2004
United States 4,818.3 6,045.8 1.8 21.2 20.9 4.6 19.3 20.6
China 2,398.9 5,007.1 7.8 10.6 17.3 20.2 2.1 3.8
Russian
1,984.1 1,524.1 -1.9 8.8 5.3 2.2 13.4 10.6
Federation
India 681.7 1,342.1 6.9 3.0 4.6 17.4 0.8 1.2
Iran (Islamic
218.3 433.3 7.0 1.0 1.5 1.1 4.0 6.4
Republic of)
Pakistan 68.0 125.6 6.0 0.3 0.4 2.4 0.6 0.8
Bangladesh 15.4 37.1 10.1 0.1 0.1 2.4 0.1 0.3
Nepal 0.6 3.0 27.3 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.1
Maldives 0.2 0.7 26.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 2.5
Bhutan 0.1 0.4 15.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2
Global aggregates
High-income
10,055.4 12,137.5 1.5 44.3 41.9 14.3 12.0 13.2
OECD
Least
developed 74.1 146.3 7.0 0.3 0.5 11.8 0.2 0.2
countries
South Asia 990.7 1,954.6 7.0 4.4 6.7 24.4 0.8 1.3
Medium
human 5,944.4 10,215.2 5.1 26.2 35.2 65.1 1.8 2.5
development
World 22,702.5 28,982.7 2.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 4.3 4.5

Bangladesh was mentioned in the Report in pages 3, 14, 26, 29, 30, 41, 43, 44, 45, 59, 64,
73, 76, 77, 87, 88, 94, 100, 102, 106, 171, 175, 176, 177, 189, 190, and 197.
Use this link to access the complete set of country data

FACT: If climate change is not properly addressed, in South and East Asia changes in
rainfall, temperatures and the availability of water would cause great losses in
productivity for food staples, thereby thwarting efforts to cut rural poverty.

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 Thursday, July 30.
2009

Bangladesh : Social Welfare & Human

Development

Social Welfare

Since poverty alleviation is a major goal of the

Government, thrust is being given on socio-economic
development of the underprivileged groups. The main
emphasis here is on adoption of integrated and
comprehensive approach taking the family as the basic
unit for social services programs with emphasis on
family and group development rather that individual
development.
The government has been implementing the following
programs in the Social Welfare sector:
(a) Urban and rural community development program.
(b) Development services for the physically and the
mentally disabled.
(c) Development services for children.
(d) Welfare services for the juvenile and the distressed
women.
(e) Welfare services for the aged and the infirm.
(f) Rehabilitation program for the addicts.
(g) Social welfare services for the beggars.
(h) Social welfare services by non-government
organizations

Rural Development

More than 50% of the country's GDP comes from the

rural sector. Development of this sector is thus crucial
for national development.

The Rural Development and Cooperatives Division of the

Government is responsible for planning implementation.
People & Population of Bangladesh : The Racial Mix

The country's population is almost evenly distributed throughout its 64 districts

except for the three Hill Tracts districts which are rather sparsely inhabited.
Regionally, the eastern districts have a slightly higher density than the western ones.
On average, a district has a population of about 1.8 million, a thana 230,000, a union
25,000 and a village 2,000. There are 490 thanas, 4,451 unions and 59,990 villages.
The number of households is about 20 million. On average, a household consists of
5.6 persons. The tribal people, who lead a simple life, are generally self-reliant,
producing their own food and drinks and weaving their own clothes.
There are 4 metropolitan cities and 119 municipalities in the country. The level of
urbanization is low at 20%. This leaves 80% of the country's total population of
about 120 million to live in the rural areas which primarily depend on a poorly
developed agriculture for livelihood. The capital city of Dhaka has an estimated
population of 8.58 million. The annual growth rate of the
population has come down to 1.75% with the acceptance of
family planning practices rising to 48.7%. The crude birth rate per 1000 is 25.6 and
the death rate is 8.1. Life expectancy at birth is 59.5 years. The rate of child
mortality per 1000 has come down to 76.8 and that of maternal mortality to 4.5.
About 96.3% families in the country have now access to safe drinking water. The sex
ratio is 106 males for every 100 females. The density of population per square
kilometre is 800.

Some 44.3% of the people are literate with about 5 million having passed secondary
school level and another 1.27 million being graduates. The primary school enrollment
rate has risen to 86% and the rate for secondary school enrollment to 33%. To
intensify promotion of compulsory primary education, the food-for education
programme has been extended to over 16,000 schools. More and more primary
schools will be brought under this programme.
 Thursday, July 30.
2009

Bangladesh : Land, Resources & Natural Regions

Most of Bangladesh lies within the broad delta formed

by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and is
exceedingly flat, low-lying, and subject to annual
flooding. Much fertile, alluvial soil is deposited by the
floodwaters. The only significant area of hilly terrain,
constituting less than one-tenth of the nation's territory,
is the Chittagong Hill Tracts District in the narrow
southeastern panhandle of the country. There, on the
border with Myanmar, is Mowdok Mual (1,003 m/3,291
ft), the country's highest peak. Small, scattered hills lie
along or near the eastern and northern borders with
India. The eroded remnants of two old alluvial terraces-
the Madhupur Tract, in the north central part of the
country, and The Barind, straddling the northwestern
boundary with India-attain elevations of about 30 m
(about 100 ft). The soil here is much less fertile than the
annually replenished alluvium of the
surrounding floodplain.

Land
Total area: 144,000 square kilometers;
Land area: 133,910 square kilometers
Land boundaries: 4,246 km total; 193 km with
Myanmar, 4,053 km with India,
Coastline: 580 km.

Land distribution:
· arable land 67%
· forest and woodland 16%
· permanent crops 2%
· meadows and pastures 4%
· others 11%
Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 4 Num 277 Tue. March 09, 2004
Point-Counterpoint

Planning future irrigated

agriculture
Perspective water sharing
Md. Saeedur Rahman

Like many other Asian countries, farmers in

Bangladesh are among the poorest and food insecure
population. Seventy five percent of the Bangladesh's
populations are directly or indirectly dependent on the
agriculture. In 1999-00 a total of 4.03 million ha was
under irrigated agriculture compared to only 0.49
million ha in 1970. Out of 7.6 million ha of irrigable
land about 4.3 million ha are presently under
irrigation, 70 percent of which is served by tube wells
technology and the rest is by surface water irrigation
schemes. Agriculture is still contributing about 60%
employment opportunities of rural population. The
draft National Water Management Plan estimates of
irrigation expansion forecast a virtual saturation by
2025. About 5.3 million ha of land already have some
form of flood protection. It is envisaged to increase
controlled flood area and increase irrigation facilities
through surface water projects by 0.70 million ha and
0.30 million ha respectively in the next five years.
Groundwater resources are fast depleting due to it's
over exploitation in the dry season irrigation. Arsenic
contamination of the shallow aquifer has set back past
successes in bringing safe drinking water supply to the
rural population in particular. It has also raised a
concern regarding the use of groundwater sources for
the continued development of agricultural produce in
the country. Large portion of this country seemingly to
continue to remain in poverty, if the agriculture sector
does not get the critical source of nourishment i.e.
irrigation water. Irrigated agriculture is because a
powerful medium for the economic development.

Irrigation development and management in

Bangladesh, as the lower riparian country, is closely
interlinked with and largely dependent on 57
transbourdary rivers having shared basins with the
neighboring countries. The non-navigation treaties
between Bangladesh and neighboring country for
international water courses over the decades remain
weak for lack of water allocation, poor water quality
provision, lack ofmonitoring/enforce-ment/conflict
resolution mechanisms and failure to include all
riparian states. The water sharing agreement/ treaty
between the Govt. of Bangladesh and the Govt. of
India in assessing their relative merits in terms of the
dry season water availability in Bangladesh has been
so found that the dry season flow at Hardinge Bridge
has dropped significantly after commissioning of
Farakka Barrage in India with a sharp declining trend
 Thursday, July 30.
2009

Bangladesh Economy : Quick look

Bangladesh is an agricultural country. With some three-

fifths of the population engaged in farming. Jute and tea
are principal sources of foreign exchange. Major
impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and
floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate
port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot
be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy
resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and
slow implementation of economic reforms. Economic
reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting
and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also
has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy,
public sector unions, and other vested interest groups.
The newly-elected BNP government, led by Prime
Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to
push through needed reforms, but the party's level of
political will to do so remains undetermined.

For higher GDP growth, investments in both public and

private sectors will need to be accelerated. The
prevailing political and economic stability has greatly
encouraged investment in the private sector. The trend
of foreign direct investment is very encouraging.

The government is committed to market economy and

has been pursuing policies for supporting and
encouraging private investment and eliminating
unproductive expenditures in the public sector. A
number of measures have been taken to strengthen the
planning system and intensify reforms in the financial
sector. The present government believe that wastage of
resources is a far greater obstacle to development than
inadequacy of resources.
 Bangladesh : Labor Force

Occupationally, 75 percent of the civilian labour force, which is currently

estimated at 56 million, is directly or indirectly engaged in agriculture. Only
12 percent is engaged in industry. Unemployment is estimated at around
18.5 percent. In terms of age structure, it is more youthful than in the
western countries. Heavy pressure of population on scarce land has no
doubt created an extremely unfavourable land-man ratio.

Coupled with this is the problem of unequal distribution and heavy

fragmentation of land in the rural areas. This is expected to improve with
more vigorous efforts at poverty alleviation and raising of educational and
social consciousness. Sluggishness of the agricultural sector has resulted in
its increasing dependence on the whims of nature and the per capita daily
availability of food grains coming down to low level of 432 gram. Nearly
45% of the people live below the poverty line.

As the country steps to the 21st century, it aims at accelerated economic

growth, human resource development and self-reliance. Central to all the
efforts to reach those targets will be poverty alleviation, rural development,
involving women in all national activities and creating a well-educated
healthy nation to be able to face up to the challenges of a fast moving
technologically advanced global society.

Agriculture of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is primarily an agrarian economy. Agriculture is the

single largest producing sector of economy since it comprises about
30% of the country's GDP and employing around 60% of the total
labour force. The performance of this sector has an overwhelming
impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment
generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development and
food security.

Meeting the nation's food requirements remain the key-objective of

the government and in recent years there has been substantial
increase in grain production. However, due to calamities like flood,
loss of food and cash crops is a recurring phenomenon which
disrupts the continuing progress of the entire economy.

Agricultural holdings in Bangladesh are generally small. Through

Cooperatives the use of modern machinery is gradually gaining
popularity. Rice, Jute, Sugarcane, Potato, Pulses, Wheat, Tea and
Tobacco are the principal crops. The crop sub-sector dominates the
agriculture sector contributing about 72% of total production.
Fisheries, livestock and forestry sub-sectors are 10.33%, 10.11%
and 7.33% respectively.

Bangladesh is the largest producer of Jute. Rice being the staple

food, its production is of major importance. Rice production stood at
20.3 million tons in 1996-97 fiscal year. Crop diversification
program, credit, extension and research, and input distribution
policies pursued by the government are yielding positive results. The
country is now on the threshold of attaining self-sufficiency in food
grain production.

Bangladesh : Commerce & Industry

Commerce Information :

In 1972-73, the export earnings of the country totaled US$348.33 million,

of which 90% came from the jute export sector. The other major export
producing items were tea and leather. Since then, the country has been
widening its export base. The situation has now vastly improved with
addition of non-traditional items like readymade garments, shrimps, fish,
finished, leather, newsprint chemical fertilizer, handicrafts, naphtha, ceramic
products, fresh fruits, flowers and vegetables, etc. As a result, the export
earnings increased, estimated to be US $ 5020 million during 1997-98.

The major importable items include raw cotton, textile fabrics and
accessories cotton yarn, petroleum products, capital machinery, automobiles
including spares and accessories, industrial chemicals and dyes,
pharmaceutical raw materials, milk food, edible-oil, coal, ferrous and non-
ferrous metals, cement, etc. The value of imports during 1997-98 has been
estimated to be US$ 7525 million.

In line with the global trend, the government has steadily liberalized its
trade barriers and significant progress has been achieved in recent years in
reducing or eliminating non-tariff restrictions, rationalizing tariff rates and
raising export incentives.

Information on Industry :

The county was one of the major exporters of textiles, silk and sugar till the
eighteenth century but the industrialization process was subsequently halted
during the 200 years of colonial exploitation. As a result, Bangladesh
inherited a narrow industrial base when it became
independent in 1971.

It has a good number of large, medium and small-sized industries in both

public and private sectors based on both indigenous and imported raw
materials. Among them are jute, cotton, textile, fertilizer, engineering,
shipbuilding, steel, oil-refinery, paper, newsprint, sugar, chemicals, cement
and leather. Jute Industry has traditionally played an important role in the
national economy. But in recent years, Ready Made Garments Industry has
replaced Jute as the principal export-earner for the country. Considerable
progress has been attained in the past few years in industries such as
leather, ceramic, shrimp, fish, pharmaceuticals and frozen food.

With the development of infrastructures, supportive policies for trade and

investment and comparative advantage in labour-intensive Industries,
excellent prospects for investment exist in Bangladesh today. Industrial
growth was recorded at 81% during 1997-98. Foreign investors are pouring
into the country in greater numbers everday, especially in the export
processing zones special facilties existing at Dhaka and Chittagong.
To attract local and foreign investors, the present government has
introduced a number of perks and incentives. These include provision for
setting up export processing zones in the private sector, initiatives to set up
new EPZs in the public sector, tax holiday for export-oriented industries,
scope for 100 percent foreign investments and repatriation of profits. etc.

Due to the present economic necessity and past experiences, privatization

of state-owned enterprises are being geared up by the present government.
Bangladesh Economy : Trend & Planning

Trend:

Bangladesh has an agrarian economy with 32% of GDP coming from the Agriculture
Sector. Major agricultural products are rice, jute, wheat, potato, pulses, tobacco, tea,
sugarcane, etc. The country is the largest exporter of jute and jute goods in the
world. Readymade garments are among the most exportable items. Tea, frozen
shrimps, fish, leather goods and handicrafts are also major exportable commodities.

The country has under gone a major shift in its economic philosophy and
management in recent years. On its birth, it embraced socialism as the economic
ideology with a dominant role for the public sector. But since the mid-seventies, it
undertook a major restructuring towards establishing a market economy with
emphasis on private sector-led economic growth.

During the nineties, the country has completed a major stabilization program which
has reduced inflation as well as fiscal and current account deficits and established a
healthy foreign exchange reserve position with low and sustainable debt-service
liabilities. With a modest economic growth, the basic indicators related to health,
education and poverty have all shown sustained improvement

According to a World Bank estimate, Bangladesh has the 36th largest economy in the
world in terms of GNP based on purchasing power parity method of valuation, and
55th largest in terms of nominal GNP in U.S. Dollars. However, because of the
population size, per capita income was US$ 280 in 1998(1
US$=Taka 48.50).

Planning:

Bangladesh has pursued the path of planned development since independence. Short
term Annual Development Programs. Medium term Five-year Plans and Long term
perspective plans have been used for the purpose. The First-Five year plan (1973-
78) was launched in 1973, while the Fourth-Five year plan concluded in June. 1995.

The Fifth Five Year Plan has been launched by the previous government covering the
period 1997-002 in order to enable the country to face the challenges of the 21st
century. Export-led economic growth through a liberal free market approach,
alleviation of poverty and empowerment of the poor, industrialization, agricultural
growth and human resource development have been attached topmost priority in
recent Development Plans.

During the l990s, the government policy has focused on strengthening the
government's role in social and infrastructure development, with the private sector
playing the leading role in directly productive activities. The roles of the government
are mainly confined to regulatory and promotional ones.

Participation of target people at the grassroots level in the planning process has been
emphasized by the present government. Grass-roots institutions and individuals are
expected to get a prominent role in future in plan formulation and implementation.
People & Population of Bangladesh : The Racial Mix

The country's population is almost evenly distributed throughout its 64

districts except for the three Hill Tracts districts which are rather sparsely
inhabited. Regionally, the eastern districts have a slightly higher density
than the western ones. On average, a district has a population of about 1.8
million, a thana 230,000, a union 25,000 and a village 2,000. There are 490
thanas, 4,451 unions and 59,990 villages. The number of households is
about 20 million. On average, a household consists of 5.6 persons. The
tribal people, who lead a simple life, are generally self-reliant, producing
their own food and drinks and weaving their own clothes.
There are 4 metropolitan cities and 119 municipalities in the country. The
level of urbanization is low at 20%. This leaves 80% of the country's total
population of about 120 million to live in the rural areas which primarily
depend on a poorly developed agriculture for livelihood. The capital city of
Dhaka has an estimated population of 8.58 million. The annual growth rate
of the population has come down to 1.75% with the acceptance of family
planning practices rising to 48.7%. The crude birth rate per 1000 is 25.6
and the death rate is 8.1. Life expectancy at birth is 59.5 years. The rate of
child mortality per 1000 has come down to 76.8 and that of maternal
mortality to 4.5. About 96.3% families in the country have now access to
safe drinking water. The sex ratio is 106 males for every 100 females. The
density of population per square kilometre is 800.

Some 44.3% of the people are literate with about 5 million having passed
secondary school level and another 1.27 million being graduates. The
primary school enrollment rate has risen to 86% and the rate for secondary
school enrollment to 33%. To intensify promotion of compulsory primary
education, the food-for education programme has been extended to over
16,000 schools. More and more primary schools will be brought under this
programme.