Concern over drugs has surged sharply among Bangladeshis, with the issue emerging as the country’s second most frequently cited problem after corruption, according to the latest International Republican Institute (IRI) survey.
Asked spontaneously to name the single most important problem facing Bangladesh, 15% of respondents identified drugs, nearly three times the 6% recorded in IRI’s 2025 survey.
Only corruption ranked higher, cited by 22% of respondents.
Crime, terrorism, security and law and order ranked third at 12%, followed by commodity price inflation at 10% and unemployment at 9%.
Political instability was cited by 7%, while power, electricity and gas problems and election or political reform were each mentioned by 4%.
The sharp rise in concern about drugs is one of the most striking changes recorded in IRI’s latest assessment of public priorities.
In its media release accompanying the survey, IRI specifically highlighted the increase, saying concern about drugs had “almost tripled” from 6% in 2025 to 15% this year.
The findings put drug abuse and trafficking ahead of several issues traditionally prominent in public debate, including inflation, unemployment, political instability, healthcare, education and the energy crisis.
At the same time, corruption remains the dominant national concern.
The survey found 22% identifying corruption as Bangladesh’s single biggest problem. Among those respondents, 29% pointed specifically to corruption in obtaining jobs, while 19% cited misuse of government funds at the local level and 16% corruption in obtaining national government contracts.
IRI’s accompanying release said the results showed that citizens’ priorities increasingly centre on governance, anti-corruption measures, law and order and political reform.
The survey was conducted from May 16 to June 24 through face-to-face interviews with 5,000 adults from all 64 districts and eight divisions. The margin of error is ±1.7 percentage points.