The Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) launched its flagship publication “State of the Real Economy: Dynamics of Reversals and Resilience in Bangladesh” at the CIRDAP Auditorium in Dhaka on Saturday.
The book is co-edited by Hossain Zillur Rahman and Namira Shameem.
Hossain Zillur Rahman said PPRC’s findings matched those of the World Bank on poverty reversal and the growing vulnerability of the middle class.
PPRC’s nationally representative survey showed moderate poverty rose from 18.7% in 2022 to 27.9% in 2025. Extreme poverty rose from 5.6% to 9.35% in the same period.
The expenditure Gini coefficient rose to 0.436, indicating worsening inequality.
Nearly 18% of households, or 31 million people, fall in the “fragile middle” category, living between the poverty line and the median income level. Stagnant incomes, rising expenses and economic shocks leave them at constant risk of slipping into poverty.
Half of all households have at least one chronically ill member who needs recurring spending on medicine and healthcare.
Combining household data with meso and macro trends, PPRC said the economy is not merely hostage to geopolitical shocks but caught in a structural trap of rising poverty, low investment and low growth.
Jean Pesme, Country Director of the World Bank, said: “The overarching challenge facing the economy requires immediate structural transformation across trade, public finance, and energy efficiency. There is a critical urgency to align the labor market and education with private sector needs to restore supply-side confidence and drive job creation.”
Professor Mustafizur Rahman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said: “Income inequality in Bangladesh has more than doubled, and growth is not lifting people out of poverty as fast as it is across the rest of South Asia.”
Md. Fazlul Hoque, Administrator of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), said: “For twenty years, no sector beyond garments has taken off, and our dependence on RMG exports has only grown, from about 73-75% to 84-85%. Degrees no longer guarantee jobs, and Gen Z will not tolerate visiting government offices 30-40 times for a routine permit.”
Farah Kabir, Country Director of ActionAid Bangladesh, said: “Informal workers are struggling with rising food prices and no minimum wage guarantees. As female employment in the RMG sector declines, we need alternative agro-ecology jobs, child care centers, and gender-sensitive investment.”
In his closing remarks, Hossain Zillur Rahman stressed the need to acknowledge the structural trap of household distress, investment stagnation, and unreformed institutions.
He called for a comprehensive transition compact built on five pillars: economic democracy, new growth drivers, quality education, productivity transformation, and governance reforms for speed and results.
Urging an experiential lens to assess the state’s shortcomings, he described hoirani as an all-pervasive phenomenon across the state, institutions, and governance that eats away at people’s energy, initiatives, and dreams.
He said a hoirani-free reality in economic and political governance must be the core focus of structural reforms.