NN Online:
Bangladesh’s population has reached an estimated 175.7 million, with two-thirds (115 million) in the working-age group (15–64 years), offering a major opportunity to reap the demographic dividend, according to the UNFPA’s State of World Population (SWOP) 2025 report.
UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh, Catherine Breen Kamkong, unveiled the report at a press conference held Monday at the UN building in Gulshan, Dhaka. She noted that half of the population are women, while 7% (12 million) are aged 65 and above, indicating the beginning of population ageing.
The country has a large youth population, with adolescents (10–19 years) making up 19% (around 33 million), and the broader 10–24 age group representing 28% (about 50 million).
This year’s SWOP theme, “The Real Fertility Crisis – The Pursuit of Reproductive Agency in a Changing World,” highlights that fertility challenges are less about population numbers and more about the lack of reproductive agency, especially for women and youth.
“In Bangladesh, many people, particularly women, face systemic and economic barriers that prevent them from realizing their reproductive goals,” said Kamkong.
The report shows that Bangladesh’s total fertility rate (TFR) stands at 2.1, a midpoint between high-fertility countries like Niger (TFR 5.8) and low-fertility countries like South Korea (TFR 0.8). However, adolescent birth rates remain high due to early marriage, limited contraceptive access, and poor sex education.
Kamkong emphasized the need for greater investment in health, urging Bangladesh to increase public health spending from 0.7% of GDP to 5%, and from 2% to 15% of the national budget, to improve access to healthcare, medicines, and contraceptive options—especially for underserved women.
