The average life expectancy and birth rate in the country have declined in a span of a year. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) revealed this on Sunday in a report titled ‘Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics-2023’. According to the BBS report, life expectancy at birth in 2023 has decreased statistically, to 72.3 years, which was 72.4 years in 2022. On the other hand, the population growth rate has decreased in a span of a year. The general growth rate of the population in 2023 is 1.33 percent which was 1.40 percent in 2022. 'Joyee 360': IPDC launches sub-branch in Dhaka’s Mirpur for women entrepreneurs The BBS survey revealed that among the top ten causes of death, the first cause of death is cardiac arrest at 1.027 percent and the second cause at 0.64 percent was cerebral brain hemorrhage. The average age at first marriage for men is 24.2 years and for women 18.4 years. In terms of internal migration, the rural arrival rate is 20.4 and the urban arrival rate is 43.4 per thousand population. In addition, the number of young populations not in education, work or training decreased to 39.88 percent in 2023 compared to 40.67 percent in 2022. The mobile phone user population aged 5 plus increased to 59.9 percent in 2023. However, for 15plus-year-olds, the rate has slightly increased to 74.2 percent compared to 73.8 percent in 2022. 50.1% of Internet users aged 15 plus in 2023. The sex ratio is slightly downward in 2023 standing at 96.37 percent, and the dependency ratio is 53.73 percent. The population density is 1,179 persons per square kilometer. The gross birth rate per thousand population was 19.4 in 2023, which was 19.8 in 2022. At that time (2023), the obesity mortality rate per thousand population was 6.1, which was 5.8 in 2022. The under-five mortality rate is 33 per thousand and the maternal mortality ratio is 136 per 100,000 live births, compared to 153 in 2022. Bangladesh among 30 countries with the highest purchasing power parity in the world The number of birth control users in 2023 decreased slightly to 62.1 percent in 2023 compared to 63.3 percent in 2022. Unmet demand for birth control decreased to 15.57 percent in 2023 compared to 16.62 percent in 2022. Household size remained unchanged in 2023 as in 2022 at 4.2. However, the rate of female household heads increased in 2023 compared to 2022. It was 17.4 percent in 2022, which increased to 18.9 percent in 2023. On the other hand, male household head was 82.6 percent in 2022, the rate decreased to 81.17 percent in 2023.

Air pollution is reducing the life expectancy of the residents of Dhaka, one the most polluted cities in the world, by 7.7 years, says a new study. The residents of Dhaka could live 7.7 years longer while the average life expectancy in Bangladesh would have been 5.6 years higher if pollution concentrations could have been complied with the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline, said an analysis of data from the Air Quality Life Index, conducted by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). The study finds that particulate pollution cuts global life expectancy by nearly 2.2 years. Bangladesh, known as one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, has been struggling with air pollution for a long time. In many cases, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is often found to be the most polluted city in the world in global indices. Particulate matter pollution continues to rise in Bangladesh. Since 1998, the average annual particulate pollution has increased by 15.3 percent, cutting 0.9 years off the lives of the average Bangladesh residents over the years, it said. In each of the 64 districts, the levels of particulate matter were found to be at least three times higher than the WHO guidelines. The most polluted areas of the country are Rajshahi and Khulna divisions as the average residents are exposed to pollution that is more than seven times of the WHO guidelines, reducing life expectancy by more than six years, it added.