Currently, the number of extremely poor people in Bangladesh is 4.17 million, of which 6.5 percent are in serious condition. This information has emerged in a recent report published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

However, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the rate of extreme poverty has decreased in the country.

According to BBS Food Income and Expenditure Survey 2022, the extreme poverty rate in the country is 5.6 percent. In 2016, this rate was 12.9 percent.

The report titled 'Global Multidimensional Poverty Index-2024: Poverty in Conflict' was released by UNDP on Thursday. It was published by UNDP in collaboration with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, a research center at the University of Oxford.

The report surveyed 6.3 billion people in 112 countries to understand the multidimensional poverty situation. It has analyzed data for more than a decade till 2022-23.

Here, it has been taken into consideration how people are lacking in getting essential services like adequate housing, sanitation, electricity, edible oil and nutrition. The report also takes into account the rate at which children are attending school.

According to the index, 1.1 billion people in the world live in extreme poverty. Almost half of them are residents of conflict-affected countries. More than 83 percent of people living in extreme poverty live in countries in Africa and South Asia. In South Asia, 272 million poor people live in households where at least one person is malnourished.

According to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index-2024, the standard of living of people plays the biggest role in poverty in Bangladesh (45.1 percent). It is followed by education (37.6 percent) and health (17.3 percent).

According to the latest data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics for 2022, 18.7 percent of people in Bangladesh are living below the poverty line. Among them 5.6 percent people are living below extreme poverty line.

According to the latest census, the country currently has a population of 16 crore 98 lakh 28 thousand. According to that, the number of poor people in the country is 3 crore 17 lakh 57 thousand.

In this regard, the former Director General of Bangladesh Development Research Institute BIDS KAS Murshid said that it is not correct to compare the way Bangladesh's poverty has been measured in this study of UNDP with the study of Bangladesh BBS or other organizations. Through this study, a picture of the poverty situation of Bangladesh compared to the world was obtained.

He said, in the last few years, the poverty situation has worsened due to the dollar crisis and various financial problems in Bangladesh. It has been understood in this survey through various indicators. From here, an opportunity has been created to take action plans according to the situation in Bangladesh.

According to the index, India has the highest number of poor people in the world. Of the country's 1.4 billion population, 23.4 million live in extreme poverty. It is followed by Pakistan (9.3 million), Ethiopia (8.6 million), Nigeria (7.4 million) and Republic of Congo (6.6 million). Almost half of the world's population living in extreme poverty live in these five countries.

According to the indicators published by UNDP, children are the biggest victims of poverty. About 58.4 million people living in extreme poverty are under 18 years of age. This number is 27.9 percent of the total number of children in the world. In contrast, 13.5 percent of the world's total adult population lives in extreme poverty.