Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 27: An increasing number of households in Bangladesh are slipping into financial distress despite remaining above the official poverty line, as stagnant wages, rising prices and weak social protection erode their financial security, according to a new report.
Nearly 6.2 crore people remain vulnerable to falling into poverty following an economic shock, with the report describing them as an emerging class of “new poor”, *The Business Standard*, a Bangladesh-based publication, reported.
Citing a World Bank assessment, the report said Bangladesh’s poverty rate could rise to 22.5 per cent in 2026 from 18.7 per cent in 2022. Extreme poverty, measured against the international threshold of $3 a day, could have increased to 10.1 per cent from 5.9 per cent during the same period.
Inflation has outpaced wage growth for 56 consecutive months through September 2026, forcing many households to compromise on food quality, postpone medical treatment or sell productive assets to meet immediate expenses.
“When prices rise faster than earnings, families lose purchasing power even when nominal wages increase,” the report said.
An official survey conducted in October found that 47.42 per cent of households had borrowed money to cover their living expenses. The proportion was higher in rural areas, where 51.91 per cent of households reported borrowing to meet everyday needs.
The survey also found that average monthly household expenditure stood at Tk 35,311, exceeding the average monthly income of Tk 33,513.
The report identified weak private investment, energy constraints and regulatory uncertainty as major obstacles to business expansion and job creation.
Young people face underemployment or are compelled to take up jobs that do not match their qualifications, while women continue to encounter barriers to securing stable and adequately paid employment, the publication noted.
It also highlighted concerns over poor loan recovery, preferential lending practices and inadequate accountability in the banking sector, arguing that these issues could divert resources away from productive businesses.
“Banking reform is therefore not merely a technical concern: it is part of the employment and development agenda. The costs of financial misconduct should not be passed on to businesses, workers, and taxpayers,” the report said.
To address these challenges, the report urged the government to publish a quarterly dashboard by October 2027 covering poverty levels, real wages, decent employment, household debt and social protection coverage.
It recommended that the data be disaggregated by sex, age, location and income group to provide a clearer picture of economic vulnerability across the country.
The report further stressed that publicly accessible data and transparent methodologies would be essential to enable independent scrutiny of the government's progress in addressing poverty and improving household financial resilience.