The Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2022 conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) shows that the poverty rate in Bangladesh has declined sharply from 24.3 percent in 2016 to 18.7 percent in 2022. The level of extreme poverty has also shown a marked decline from 12.9 percent to 5.6 percent during the same period. The poverty rate in rural areas was 20.7 percent, whereas in urban areas it was recorded to be 14.7 percent.
However, the survey showed a mild increase in inequality in the country reflected in the increased Gini Coefficient which measures income distribution across the population. The Gini Coefficient for 2022 was recorded at 0.49 compared to 0.48 in 2016. Further, the literacy rate in the country jumped to 74.6 percent in 2022, compared to 65.6 percent in 2016. More than 96 percent of the people now have access to drinking water and 92.1 percent have improved toilet facilities. Electricity access has also gone up to 99.32 percent in 2022, a marked increase from 75.92 percent in 2016.
The average monthly household income in nominal terms increased significantly from Taka 15,988 in 2016 to 32,422 in 2022. At the same time, the monthly total expenditure of households has increased nominally to Taka 31,500 in 2022 from Taka 15,715 in 2016.