Life expectancy rises to 70.7 years

women live longer than men: BBS

The average life expectancy in Bangladesh has gone up by three years, from 67.7 years in 2010 to 70.7 years in 2014, according to a study by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
The report said life expectancy at birth has increased on the average by 0.60 years annually over the last five years, reaching 70.7 years in 2014 from 67.7 years in 2010. The gain is somewhat pronounced among women than among men, as a result of the higher survival advantage in favour of females.
BBS yesterday released the study report on Sample Vital Registration System (SVRS) at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city.
The report revealed that females are living longer than males, as life expectancy of females has increased from 68.8 years to 71.6 years, whereas for males it has increased from 66.6 years to 69.1 years.
Speaking as the chief guest, planning secretary Shafiqul Azam said these statistics were important for the national planners. “The plan becomes effective and success depends on the actual statistics,” he added.
Member of the General Economic Division of the Planning Commission, Prof. Dr Shamsul Alam, said a plan containing proper information is very important. “So the BBS is being strengthened, so that it can produce proper statistics,” he said.
Presided over by BBS director general Mohammad Abdul Wazed, secretary of the Statistics and Information Division, Kaniz Fatema, and chief of nutrition and office in-charge of UNICEF Bangladesh, Anuradha Narayan, also addressed the programme, among others.
According to the report, the crude birth rate (CBR), the simplest measure of fertility, has been estimated at 18.9 per thousand population. The rural CBR, as expected, is higher than the urban CBR, 19.4 against 17.2. The general fertility rate worked out to 71 per thousand women with 75 in rural areas and 60 in urban areas. The total fertility rate (TFR) remains in the neighbourhood of 2.1, which is exactly the same as that recorded last year. A comparison of all these alternative measures of fertility tends to demonstrate that fertility in Bangladesh has remained nearly unchanged over the last five years.
The crude death rate was 5.2 per 1,000 population, with a rate of 5.6 in the rural area and 4.1 in the urban area. This rate has declined from 5.6 in 2010 to 5.2 in 2014. A similar decline was noted in the infant mortality rate, 36 per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 30 in 2014. In conformity with this decline, the neo-natal mortality rate has also fallen from 26 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 21 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014, without revealing any male-female differentials. Post-neonatal mortality rate has remained nearly static over the last five years, in the neighbourhood of 10 to 11 deaths per 1,000 live births. Child mortality has been estimated at 2.0 deaths per 1,000 children in 2014, which is lower by only 0.2 than the previous year’s figure, and 0.6 less than the one reported in 2010.
Under-five mortality has also recorded a similar decline: from 47 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 38 deaths in 2014. In all cases, the males have been found to experience higher mortality risk than their female counterparts. This is true for both urban and rural areas: rural children remain at a higher risk of mortality than urban children. Maternal mortality ratio has shown a consistent decline over the past five years, from 2.16 maternal deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 1.93 in 2014.
The mean age at marriage for males has increased by two years in the last five years. For example, while the mean age at marriage—as recorded in 2010—was 23.9 years for males, this increased to 25.9 years in 2014. In contrast, the mean age for females has remained almost unchanged over this period. The mean age at first marriage for both males and females, estimated from the previous marital status data, shows a modest increase during 2013–14: 0.6 years for males and 0.4 years for females.
The contraceptive prevalence rate has shown a moderate increase over the last five years, from 56.7 in 2010 to 62.2 in 2014, an increase of around 10 per cent in five years. The urban women are greater in proportion (64.5 per cent) than their rural counterparts (61.6 per cent) in using contraceptives. Of the total use, modem method users constitute 58.4 per cent, while the remaining 3.8 per cent adopt traditional methods.
The migratory behaviour of the population in the SVRS area indicates a balance. The overall in-migration rate was estimated at 40.2 per 1,000 population as against an out-migration rate of 43.1, resulting in a net loss of 0.29 per cent population in the SVRS area.

Life expectancy rises to 70.7 years

women live longer than men: BBS

The average life expectancy in Bangladesh has gone up by three years, from 67.7 years in 2010 to 70.7 years in 2014, according to a study by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). The report said life expectancy at birth has increased on the average by 0.60 years annually over the last five years, reaching 70.7 years in 2014 from 67.7 years in 2010. The gain is somewhat pronounced among women than among men, as a result of the higher survival advantage in favour of females. BBS yesterday released the study report on Sample Vital Registration System (SVRS) at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city. The report revealed that females are living longer than males, as life expectancy of females has increased from 68.8 years to 71.6 years, whereas for males it has increased from 66.6 years to 69.1 years. Speaking as the chief guest, planning secretary Shafiqul Azam said these statistics were important for the national planners. The plan becomes effective and success depends on the actual statistics, he added. Member of the General Economic Division of the Planning Commission, Prof. Dr Shamsul Alam, said a plan containing proper information is very important. So the BBS is being strengthened, so that it can produce proper statistics, he said. Presided over by BBS director general Mohammad Abdul Wazed, secretary of the Statistics and Information Division, Kaniz Fatema, and chief of nutrition and office in-charge of UNICEF Bangladesh, Anuradha Narayan, also addressed the programme, among others. According to the report, the crude birth rate (CBR), the simplest measure of fertility, has been estimated at 18.9 per thousand population. The rural CBR, as expected, is higher than the urban CBR, 19.4 against 17.2. The general fertility rate worked out to 71 per thousand women with 75 in rural areas and 60 in urban areas. The total fertility rate (TFR) remains in the neighbourhood of 2.1, which is exactly the same as that recorded last year. A comparison of all these alternative measures of fertility tends to demonstrate that fertility in Bangladesh has remained nearly unchanged over the last five years. The crude death rate was 5.2 per 1,000 population, with a rate of 5.6 in the rural area and 4.1 in the urban area. This rate has declined from 5.6 in 2010 to 5.2 in 2014. A similar decline was noted in the infant mortality rate, 36 per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 30 in 2014. In conformity with this decline, the neo-natal mortality rate has also fallen from 26 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 21 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014, without revealing any male-female differentials. Post-neonatal mortality rate has remained nearly static over the last five years, in the neighbourhood of 10 to 11 deaths per 1,000 live births. Child mortality has been estimated at 2.0 deaths per 1,000 children in 2014, which is lower by only 0.2 than the previous years figure, and 0.6 less than the one reported in 2010. Under-five mortality has also recorded a similar decline: from 47 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 38 deaths in 2014. In all cases, the males have been found to experience higher mortality risk than their female counterparts. This is true for both urban and rural areas: rural children remain at a higher risk of mortality than urban children. Maternal mortality ratio has shown a consistent decline over the past five years, from 2.16 maternal deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 1.93 in 2014. The mean age at marriage for males has increased by two years in the last five years. For example, while the mean age at marriageas recorded in 2010was 23.9 years for males, this increased to 25.9 years in 2014. In contrast, the mean age for females has remained almost unchanged over this period. The mean age at first marriage for both males and females, estimated from the previous marital status data, shows a modest increase during 201314: 0.6 years for males and 0.4 years for females. The contraceptive prevalence rate has shown a moderate increase over the last five years, from 56.7 in 2010 to 62.2 in 2014, an increase of around 10 per cent in five years. The urban women are greater in proportion (64.5 per cent) than their rural counterparts (61.6 per cent) in using contraceptives. Of the total use, modem method users constitute 58.4 per cent, while the remaining 3.8 per cent adopt traditional methods. The migratory behaviour of the population in the SVRS area indicates a balance. The overall in-migration rate was estimated at 40.2 per 1,000 population as against an out-migration rate of 43.1, resulting in a net loss of 0.29 per cent population in the SVRS area.