bangladesh bureau of statistics - Dhaka Mirror

Cost of living almost double in 5 yrs

Admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:00:32 +0000

The cost of living in Bangladesh has increased by 82.59 per cent over the last five years from, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). In relation, the income has increased by 59.38 per cent over the same period showing an unusual disparity between income and expenditure.
This disparity has made the fixed income group’s living extremely unmanageable, experts opined.
According to the Household Incomeand Expenditure Survey- 2010 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the costof living in 2010 (national level) wasestimated at Tk 11,200 which was Tk 6,134 in 2005, showing an increase of 82.59per cent expenditure.
Contrarily, the average monthlyincome (national level) in 2010 was estimated at Tk 11,480 which was Tk 7,203 in2005 that shows an income growth of 59.38 percent.
However, in rural and urbanlevels, the average monthly expenditure was estimated at Tk 9,612 and Tk 15,531respectively in 2010.
The price hike of essentials,lack of efficient market policy and high inflation rate have pushed up theliving expenditure, experts further opined.
The recent hike in fuel pricewill further strike the middle and lower income groups of people hard, theysaid, adding that increasing trend of inflation this year foretell that thecost of living would be strikingly high.
On point to point basis, theinflation rate during last August was 11.29 per cent which was 10.17 in Junethis year.
According to market study reportof Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh (CAB), the prices of rice haveincreased 21.13 per cent, prices of edible oil 7.95 per cent, prices of fishes18.65 per cent, prices of spices 41.24 per cent, and prices of sugar increased35.77 per cent in 2010 than those of previous year.
In addition, the house rentincreased 5.99 per cent, water and electric prices 4.97 and 6.48 percentrespectively in 2010.
In comparison to 2009, the livingcost in 2010 have increased 16.10 per cent, said the CAB report, adding that ithas been increasing around 12 per cent per year since last couple of years.
Compared to 2010, prices of ricehave increased 12.05 per cent, edible oil 34 per cent, onion 23 per cent andsugar 26 percent in 2011, reveals the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Meanwhile, according to a reportpublished by Oxfam, an international NGO, the prices of imported essentialshave increased 10 to 25 per cent more than the price increased in internationalmarket. As a result, about 70 per cent earning of the people are being spent onconsumption purposes, it noted.
Professor Dr Mostafizur Rahman,executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CDP), has termed the high inflation rate as the main cause behind the increase of cost of living. He said the sufferings of the fixed-income people have multiplied since they have tomanage their expenses with the limited income.
According to the present situation, people have to depend on their savings to manage expenses. If their income does not increase in concurrence with expenses, the situation would be more adverse, he added.
“The recent fuel price hike will push inflation rate to rise. If government does not invest the money accrued from the subsidy given in energy sector, people’s life would be further miserable,” said Prof. Mostafiz.
Meanwhile, experts predict thatliving expenditure have increased alarmingly in 2011 since prices of almost allessentials increased steeply this year. The transportation fare has alsoincreased several times in a single year ensued by increase in fuel price.
They also predict that thenational saving would be adversely hampered due to the huge gap between theincome and expenditure.
According to the Bangladesh Economic Review (2011), the national savings in 2009-10 fiscal was 30.02 percentof GDP while during the FY 2010-11, the savings reduced to 28.40 percent of GDP.

-With The New Nation input

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58.37pc population suffers from fever

Admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:16:55 +0000

The highest 58.37 per cent of the country’s population of both sexes suffered from fever, according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey, 2010.
The survey showed that 9.94 percent of the population of both sexes at the national level suffered from pain, followed by 5.16 percent from diarrhoea, 2.12 percent from dysentery, 2.49 percent from weakness, 2.26 percent from palpitation, 1.97 percent from blood pressure and 6.62 percent from other diseases.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted the survey during a one-year period –February 2010 to January 2011 — and completed the preliminary analysis of the data in a record four months.
Among the females who had some sort of diseases during the survey period, 56.79 percent suffered from fever, 11.82 percent from pain, 4.78 percent from diarrhea and some 6.63 percent from other diseases.
In 2005, the highest proportion of the population that suffered from some sort of fever was 55.32 percent, followed by pain 9.60 percent and diarrhoea 6.48 percent. The pattern was equally valid for both the male and female population.
In the first 30 days of the survey in 2010, the highest proportion of male that suffered from fever was 6.78 percent, followed by pain 8.22 percent and diarrhoea 6.84 percent. Similarly, the highest proportion of female that suffered from fever was 53.95 percent, followed by pain 10.90 percent and diarrhoea 6.14 percent.

-With UNB/The Daily Star input

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Forests dip to 10pc

Admin — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 10:46:07 +0000

Environment day today
The country’s forest cover has shrunk to less than 10 percent of land mass with only 0.02 hectares of per capita forest land, one of the lowest in the world.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and Department of Forest, a total of 2.52 million hectares area — nearly 17.4 percent of the land mass — are forests, of which 1.52 million hectares are under direct control of the department.
Recently, satellite image analysis under National Forest Assessment project in association with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that forest areas in Bangladesh are not more than 1.44 million hectares.
A population pressure of 1,075 people a square kilometre and lack of environmental planning have led to the country’s forest depletion, which is fastest in South Asia, experts say.
Statistics show, the annual deforestation rate in entire South Asia is 0.6 percent and 3.3 percent in Bangladesh.
In the backdrop of deforestation across the globe, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 the International Year of Forests to campaign for sustainable management and conservation of all types of forests.
Today is the World Environment Day. This year the theme of the day is Forests: Nature at Your Service.
A country should have at least 25 percent forest coverage to meet the global standards while in Bangladesh it is less than 10 percent including all natural forest and the planted woods.
A joint report of forest department and FAO says 78 percent of forest areas in Bangladesh are disturbed.
In the country, the total forest cover in 1990 was 1,491 thousand hectares, 1,468 thousand hectares in 2000, 1,455 in 2005 and in 2010 it was 1,442 thousand hectares, the report adds.
The rapid deforestation has put the country’s biodiversity and wildlife at stake.
Over the last 100 years, Bangladesh has lost about 10 percent of its mammalian fauna, three percent avifauna and four percent reptile, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found in 2004.
Another 201 species of the country’s wildlife are threatened with extinction, the local chapter of IUCN says.
The country has lost one-horned rhinoceros, Javan rhinoceros, Asiatic two-horned rhinoceros, wild buffalo, nilgai, swamp deer, hog deer, wolf, pink-headed duck, common peafowl and marsh crocodile, says the forest department website.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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