Bangladesh poverty rate down to 20.5% in fiscal 2019

The poverty rate in Bangladesh is down to 20.5 percent in fiscal year 2018-19 from 21.8 percent in the year 2017-18, the planning minister says.

MA Mannan revealed the figure to reporters after a meeting of National Economic Council in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Tuesday.

The rate of extreme poverty has also decreased slightly to 10.5 percent in fiscal 2018-19 compared with 11.3 percent in fiscal 2017-18.

The figures were released in the latest report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the minister added.