Rethink Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s transformation in recent decades has been tremendous. But many people’s ideas about the country remain firmly stuck in the past. As clichés abound, it’s time for a refresher on the current realities of the flourishing Southeast Asian nation. Bangladesh is short on energy

FALSE. Bangladesh has increased its total power generation capacity to 25,700Mw—significantly higher than the current peak demand of 15,000MW. While the country has enacted power-saving measures to cope with the global energy crisis, a handful of new coal-fired power plants will ramp up or begin operations in September to further ease pressures and prices. Bangladesh is also a natural gas producer, with significant opportunities for offshore gas exploration as well as renewables development.

The Bangladeshi population is uneducated

FALSE. In a country of over 18 million primary school students, Bangladesh has achieved both near-universal (98%) primary enrollment and gender parity, according to the US Agency for International Development. World Bank data shows rapidly increasing literacy rates too, at 75% in 2020, up from 29% in 1981.

Meanwhile, more than 14% of the adult population now holds a bachelor’s degree, jumping from 5.7% in 2011.

Bangladesh is plagued by deadly natural disasters

NOT REALLY. Although Bangladesh is prone to floods and cyclones, the country is highlighted as a trailblazer in terms of disaster risk reduction. While the population has tripled in less than six decades and most people still live in risk areas, deaths from natural disasters have plummeted.

As many as 500,000 died in the 1970 Bhola Cyclone, but the comparable 2020 Amphan Cyclone saw a death toll of 26, according to the Red Cross. How? With a multi-layered early warning system, modern forecasting, more than 5,500 multipurpose cyclone shelters and a massive volunteer network. For the past five years, 8.8% of the national budget has been spent on disaster risk reduction.

Most people in Bangladesh go hungry

FALSE. While hunger remains a concern in Bangladesh, the country has made major strides in pulling millions of people out of situations marked by food insecurity. Today, its Global Hunger Index (GHI) rating is 19.1, marking a massive improvement from 2000, when the rating was at 34 (higher GHI numbers signify more hunger severity). The hunger index shows that access to food in Bangladesh is significantly better than in neighboring India (with a score of 27.5) and similar to the levels in Nepal or Guatemala.

In stark contrast to the massive famine in 1974 — one of the worst of the 20th century — Bangladesh has organized its agricultural system to become a major exporter of food staples like fish, vegetables and rice.

Unsafe working conditions prevail in the garment industry

NOT ANYMORE. The deadly 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse was a wake-up call for regulators. Since then, Bangladesh’s garment industry has undergone a vast structural transformation. The disaster led hundreds of foreign brands to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety or the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Committees were formed to regularly inspect whether workplaces were compliant. Many issues were discovered, with the majority successfully addressed. Still, within five years after the disaster, factories that joined the safety agreements terminated work with more than 200 suppliers, while the government shut down 513 factories for safety violations. Millions of workers have now received safety training, the government more than doubled the minimum wage and the garment sector went from having no unions to more than 1,100.