Life expectancy rises by a year in Bangladesh, social indices improve: BBS survey

Bangladesh’s social indices have improved alongside an increase in life expectancy by a year, says BBS.

A survey report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics released on Tuesday said people’s average life expectancy had risen to 70 years and four months in 2013 from 2012.
 
Life expectancy for males was 68 years and eight months, while it was 71 years and two months for females.
 
The report said the rate of maternal and child deaths had dropped.
 
Project Director AKM Ashraful Haque of the national statistics agency officially launched the report at a ceremony in Dhaka.
 
At the programme, the Statistics and Information Management Division Secretary Kaniz Fatema said, “The survey found Inequality still prevailed in the country.”
 
She said the updated report for 2014 would be published after the Eid holidays.
 
According to the report, the rate of maternal deaths in 2013 dropped by 0.06 to 1.97 from the previous year.
 
The under-5 child deaths rate fell to 41 per thousand from 42.
 
The rate of toilet use rose to 63.03 percent from 63.02.
 
The report said the literacy rate, too, increased slightly during that period.
 
The rate of literacy among the people aged 15 years or above increased to 61 percent in 2013 from 60.7 percent in 2012.
 
The male literacy rate was 64.02 percent, while it was 57.08 for females.
 
The average age of marriage declined by seven months to 25 years and five months.
 
The report said electricity use increased to 66.09 from 65.06 percent during the period.