Bangladesh’s Poverty Reduction Slows Despite Growth: World Bank

Bangladesh’s progress in reducing poverty has slowed significantly since 2016 despite years of strong economic growth, according to a new assessment released by the World Bank.The report was formally unveiled on Tuesday at a programme organised by the Policy Research Institute in a city hotel, where World Bank officials presented key findings and policy recommendations.According to the report, between 2010 and 2022, extreme poverty fell from 12.2 percent to 5.6 percent, while moderate poverty declined from 37.1 percent to 18.7 percent. During this period, about 9 million people escaped extreme poverty and 25 million moved out of moderate poverty.Despite sustained economic growth—averaging 6.6 percent annually over 2010–2022—the World Bank notes that poverty reduction has slowed sharply since 2016.Bangladesh’s poverty elasticity of growth stood at 0.9, well below the South Asian average of 1.5, indicating that economic expansion translated less effectively into poverty reduction.Recent years saw consumption growth favouring middle- and ...

• 25 Nov 2025