More Bangladeshis believe country is heading in the wrong direction economically, politically: survey

The survey finds 84 percent people are severely affected by price rises

A recent survey has shown a rise in the number of people who believe Bangladesh is going in the wrong direction economically and politically.

The study has been conducted jointly by The Asia Foundation, Bangladesh, and the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, Brac University,.

It sheds light on Bangladeshi citizens’ perceptions regarding the political, economic, and social atmosphere of the country.

The survey titled “The State of Bangladesh’s Political, Governance, Development and Society” collected data from 10,240 adult men and women, across all 64 districts, during the period between November 2022 and January 2023.

Just under half or 48 percent say Bangladesh is heading in the wrong direction politically, an increase from 31 percent in 2019.

More than one-third or 39 percent say the country is heading in the right direction politically, a decrease from 64 percent in 2019.

The proportion of respondents who believe Bangladesh is moving in the right direction socially dropped from 77 percent in 2019 to 58 percent in 2022, a decrease of 19 percentage points.

From an economic perspective, 70 percent of respondents in 2019 thought the country was heading in the right direction.

However, this dropped to 25 percent in 2022.

Asked if the recent fuel price hike affected their lives, 81 percent said their lives are severely affected, and 15 percent are somewhat affected.

Similarly, 84 percent say the recent commodity price hike severely affected their lives, for

13 percent it has somewhat affected their lives.

More than half, 62 percent, said the increased electricity production and nationwide electrification is the most important success, while 19 percent say it is an important positive event.

A similar percentage say the government’s vaccination drive was very successful.

The Padma Bridge was identified as the important success of Bangladesh by 72 percent of the respondents, and 20 percent identified it as an important positive event, 4 percent are concerned about its cost or implementation, 3 percent are concerned about the benefit compared to the cost.

Nearly half or 47 percent credit the bridge’s construction to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while 28 percent credit the Bangladesh government.

When asked if they can think of any benefit the bridge may bring, 89 percent responded affirmatively.