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According to last year’s census, Dhaka’s population was slightly more than 10.2 million
Published : 23 Jun 2023, 01:23 AM
Dhaka, ranked seventh least livable city on the planet by a globally recognised index, has a population of 21 million people, a senior government minister said.
The data was revealed by Md Tajul Islam, the minister for local government and rural development, while responding to a query from Md Selim, an Awami League MP from Dhaka city, in parliament on Thursday.
Dhaka was ranked seventh least livable city despite an improvement in scores across the board in the Economist Intelligence Unit's rankings for 2023, published on Thursday.
The Bangladeshi capital improved its score to 43.8 out of 100, but continued to rank 166th out of 172 cities on the Global Liveability Index for 2022. Its score in the 2022 ranking was 39.2.
Minister Tajul said he came up with the number by analysing how many people use the services of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, or WASA, the city’s sole government-regulated running water supplier.
The utility operates under the supervision of the LGRD ministry.
In the latest census data, published in July last year, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, or BBS, concluded that the city has a population of more than 10.2 million.
According to Tajul, among the 21 million service recipients of WASA, only 387,000 are registered as meter-based subscribers.
In this year's livability ranking, war-torn Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, secured one spot above Dhaka, ranked 165th, with its stability and infrastructure damaged by the Russian invasion.
The EIU index considers five major factors – stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
