Respondents who say the country is on the right path and those who say it is not are neck and neck at just under 49% each, though the dissatisfaction with the country’s trajectory does not appear to be rooted in economic issues, according to the Bangla Tribune nationwide opinion survey.
Nevertheless, the last two years have not been great in terms of perceptions of wealth.
Fully 92% of respondents nationwide said their expenses had increased during the Awami League’s second consecutive term in office.
All age groups in all categories of respondents – business people, homemakers, salaried professionals, students and others – overwhelmingly said that life had become costlier.
But less than half said their income had increased during the same period.
While 45% of total respondents reported that their income had increased over the last two years, some 55% said it had not.
Roughly 52% of businessmen and women said their income had not increased. Similarly, 69% of housewives and 68% of students reported that their household incomes had shown no increase in the past two year.
However, 61% of service-holders did report an increase in income over the past two years, although, even here, almost 40% reported no increase.
Despite near unanimity about the impact of inflation and a majority of respondents indicating that disposable income had fallen over the last two years, just 25% nationwide felt that the most pressing issues facing the country were economic.
Only 14.3% of respondents nationwide said economic development was the most important issue and even fewer, a mere 10.8% of respondents nationwide, said controlling prices was the key issue.
Read More
Poll finds country evenly divided
Terrorism a big threat, but not a top priority
Most people want war crimes trials to continue, Jamaat banned
Among female respondents, controlling prices appeared a more pressing concern, with some 15.6% of female respondents seeing it as the most important issue for the country.
The real concern, just over half of all respondents said, was the country’s political situation.
Nationwide almost 30% of respondents said political stability was the most important issue facing the country, while another 20% identified parliamentary elections as the key issue.