The family breadwinners in rural Bangladesh have to support a large proportion of dependents, much higher a burden compared to what their urban counterparts bear.
In rural Bangladesh over 56% of the population falls into the category of dependents (either children below 14 years of age or elderly people aged 65 and above) while the correspondent dependent population constitutes below 48% in urban areas.
“This disparity underscores the demographic pressure faced by rural areas, where the working-age population must support a larger proportion of dependents,” states the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in its final report of the latest Labour Force Survey made public last week.
The dependency ratio measures the proportion of children and older persons to the proportion of persons in the workforce in particular of ages. It is the ratio of the sum of the population younger than 15 years and the population aged 65 or older, divided by the number of persons aged between 15 and 64 years. The age dependency ratio is a summary indicator of the burden falling on the working-age population.
The youth dependency ratio, which measures the proportion of the population aged 0-14 relative to the working-age population, is significantly higher in rural areas at 47.43% compared to 41.88% in urban areas. This indicates a greater burden on the working-age population in rural regions to support a larger youth population.
Similarly, the old-age dependency ratio, which represents the population aged 65 and above relative to the working-age population, is higher in rural areas (8.84%) than in urban areas (6.03%), the BBS survey finds.
The total dependency ratio, combining both youth and old-age dependents, is substantially higher in rural areas at 56.27%, compared to 47.91% in urban areas.
Significant urban-rural divide
The survey finds that a large majority of the country’s 172.31 million population lives in rural areas, who bear higher demographic pressure of dependent population.
A closer look at rural and urban distributions reveals that rural areas host a larger share of the population, with 121.14 million people (70.57%), compared to 50.57 million (29.43%) in urban areas, highlighting a significant urban-rural divide.
Half of urban people live in rented houses
However, when it comes to having a roof over one’s head – people living in rural Bangladesh must be much more blessed compared to their urban counterpart.
In rural areas, over 92% of people live in self-owned dwellings, reflecting a high level of property ownership and stability among rural households.
Conversely, urban areas show a markedly different pattern, with only 49.16% of dwellings being owned and a significant 47.98% being rented. This indicates a higher mobility and possibly a transient population in urban areas, driven by economic opportunities and lifestyle preferences.
Rent-free dwellings are relatively rare in both localities, accounting for 3.21% in rural areas and 2.86% in urban areas.
Overall, the total distribution of dwelling types shows that 78.95% of houses are owned, 17.95% are rented, and 3.1% are rent-free. These statistics underscore the stark contrast in housing stability between rural and urban populations, highlighting the challenges faced by urban dwellers in securing home ownership.
To conduct the Labour Force Survey, BBS selected a total of 1,284 primary sampling units (PSUs) throughout the country and collected data from 24 households from each of these PSUs.
