Source: World Bank Development Indicators

In 1947, East Bengal and West Pakistan (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and together became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955. However, having the country separated in two parts by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. In 1971, East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan and became Bangladesh. About one third of the country, which is considered extremely poor already, floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development (CIA World Fact Book).

Bangladesh has a stable and growing economy, but living standards must still improve for the poorest and most vulnerable populations. About 36% of the population lives on less than US$1 a day (UNICEF Country Background).

The crucial issues still facing children in Bangladesh today include the following:

• Maternal mortality remains high. Most rural women give birth at home, without medical assistance.
• Millions of children are malnourished. Roughly half of all children under age five are underweight.
• Primary school enrolment is relatively high, but many children – especially those in urban slums – are still denied their right to a basic education.
• 7% of Bangladeshi children under the age of fourteen are child labourers.
• Birth registration is extremely low, hindering enforcement of child protection measures.
• The rise in sea levels predicted due to global warming can potentially displace millions.

Source: (UNICEF Country Background)

However, despite the issues still facing children, Bangladesh has surpassed most low-income countries on a series of social indicators regarding the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals:

• 72% (1980) to 98% (2001) increase in gross primary enrollment, already attaining the MDG of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary enrollment.
• Decline in infant mortality from 145 to 46 per 1,000 live births between 1970 and 2003, and in child mortality from 239 to 69 per 1,000, setting Bangladesh to achieve the targeted two-thirds reduction from 1990 levels by 2015.
• Food security has greatly improved, even for the very poor, with steady gains in income poverty: the population in poverty declined from 59% in 1990 to 50% in 2000, with rural areas accounting for nearly four-fifths of this decline.
• Actual values for fertility, infant and child mortality, contraceptive prevalence, and crude birth and death rates are much better than would be predicted for Bangladesh’s income level. These gains have occurred despite perceptions of poor governance, scoring low on most global governance perception indicators with investors ranking corruption among their most serious concerns.

Source: World Bank

Despite Bangladesh’s perceived poor governance, the government has allowed space and forged strong partnerships with NGOs, which have contributed to the remarkable development gains. On the other hand, an overly centralized state reduces public accountability for service delivery, with an inadequate revenue effort and weak public financial management undermining pro-poor spending policy effectiveness and fostering corruption (World Bank).

Child Labour: Bangladesh has ratified ILO Convention 182 (worst forms of child labour) but has not ratified Convention 138 (minimum age of employment).

(UNICEF, Bangladesh Statistics)

According to UNICEF, the percentage of children 5 to 14 years of age involved in child labour activities at the moment of the survey (1999-2005) was 7%. A child is considered to be involved in child labour activities as follows: (a) children 5-11 years old doing at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work during the week preceding the survey, and (b) children 12-14 years old doing at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 42 hours of economic activity and domestic work combined during the week preceding the survey. Boys ages 5-14 account for 10% of child labourers while girls account for only 4%. However, the high number of child marriages at 69% allows for the assumption that the percentage of girl child labourers should be higher if girls who stay inside the home for housework due to religious beliefs are counted (Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1%, 1998, CIA The World Factbook).

According to Global March’s partner reports, Bangladesh has taken measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour with the Bangladesh Labour Law of 2006. With the development of a draft National Child Labour Policy in 2006, the country shows an effort to synchronise policy to include child labour issues. There is also a National Plan of Action for the implementation of ILO Conventions 138 and 182 that includes the Running Eliminations of Worst Forms of Child Labour Project under the Ministry of Labour. There is a monitoring mechanism by the government for the implementation of the provisions to give effect to this Convention consisting of a government, NGOs and donor coordination and monitoring committee under the leadership of the Secretary Ministry of Labour. A partnership with civil society has also been established.

Bangladesh has various government schemes targeted specifically at the worst forms of child labour including child slavery and bondage, child trafficking, child prostitution and pornography, and children engaged in illicit activities such as drug trafficking. There are no reported schemes for children in armed conflicts/child soldiers. The budgetary allocation on child labour eradication is 3.5% of GDP.  

According to Global March’s partner reports, Bangladesh has 6 million child labourers. There are rehabilitation schemes with respect to child labour including two projects run by the government. One project is implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Manpower and the second project is implemented by ILO-IPEC Bangladesh for the rehabilitation of 50,000 child labourers in the urban informal economy.

Another issue that affects children is the low birth registration that prevents children from benefiting from child protection measures. The percentage of children less than five years of age that were registered when surveyed is 7%.

Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007

Education: According to the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007, in 2004 the net enrollment ratio for primary education was 94%. The primary school net enrollment ratio for males is 92% and for females 95% (2000-2005, UNICEF Bangladesh Statistics). Girls’ educational attainment in Bangladesh were among the lowest int he world until the early 1990s. The situation has been changed in the last decade and is now a global leader in girls’ education. A government stipend program has been the driving force, launched in 1993 to support female secondary education. The benefits are many, including falling birth rates and the number of teenage marriages. Teacher training and sanitation have also played a key role (World Bank).

Gross primary or secondary school enrolment ratio - The number of children enrolled in a level (primary or secondary), regardless of age, divided by the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the same level.                                                                     

Net primary school enrolment ratio - The number of children enrolled in primary school who belong to the age group that officially corresponds to primary schooling, divided by the total population of the same age group.                                                                                    

Net primary school attendance - Percentage of children in the age group that officially corresponds to primary schooling who attend primary school. These data come from national household surveys.

(UNICEF, Bangladesh Statistics)

In Bangladesh the 2003-04 average aid to education (constant 2003 US$) was US$516 million while the aid to education per capita was US$3.70, which is above the South and West Asia average of US$1 (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007). 18% of the central government expenditure (1994-2004) is allocated to education (UNICEF Bangladesh Statistics). Global March’s partners report the budgetary allocation on education to be 3% of GDP and that for primary education to be 2.5% of GDP with a special focus on the girl child’s education allocating 1.5%.

Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007

According to EFA Global Monitoring Report, in 2004, there were 404,000 children out of school. However, Global March partners in Bangladesh report the number of out of school children to be 5 million out of a child population of 40 million, out of which 35 million are primary school children. The government programme to enroll and retain out-of-school children includes compulsory primary education with free tuitions.

Poverty: Bangladesh has had impressive economic and social gains since the 1990s. There has been a steady economic annual growth of 4-5%, relatively low inflation, and stable domestic debt, exchange rates, and interest. This growth plus a decline in the population growth rate from 2.5% (1980s) to 1.7% (1990-2004) has doubled the annual per capita GDP growth from 1.6% (1980s) to 3.3% (1990-2004). This growth in GDP per capita showed Bangladesh outperforming IDA-only countries and low-income countries in the period. There was also a more stable growth due to Bangladesh’s improved capacity for disaster management (The World Bank).

With a reported 36% of the population living below $1 a day for 1994-2004 (UNICEF, Bangladesh Statistics), Bangladesh is now on track to halving the population living under $1 a day by 2015 (To the MDGs and Beyond: Accountability and Institutional Innovation in Bangladesh, World Bank).
The Government’s recently completed Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, "Unlocking the Potential," recognizes that despite past gains, there remains a large unfinished agenda:

• Some 63 million people live in deprivation, two-thirds of them in extreme poverty. Inequality may be rising.
• Adult illiteracy remains and is falling only slowly.
• Despite Bangladesh’s relatively good performance compared with India and Pakistan, malnutrition and maternal mortality levels in South Asia are amongst the highest in the world.
• Attaining the MDGs calls for accelerating economic growth to 6-7% a year, not an easy task.
• The availability of cultivable land is declining.
• To expand into areas of comparative advantage and to finance infrastructure, accelerating growth will require higher levels of investment and higher productivity. This calls for a substantial improvement in the investment climate, hindered by perceived high levels of corruption and lack of transparency.

Source: World Bank

Trafficking in Persons: Bangladesh is a transit and source country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. It is also a source for children-both girls and boys-trafficked for bonded labour, commercial sexual exploitation, and other forms of involuntary servitude. Women and children from Bangladesh are trafficked to India and Pakistan for sexual exploitation. Women also migrate to the Gulf legally to work as domestic servants, but often find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude with movement restrictions, no wages, and physical or sexual abuse. Bangladeshi men and women also migrate to Malaysia, the Gulf, and Jordan to work in the construction or garment industry, but sometimes face conditions of involuntary servitude; large predeparture fees from Bangladeshi recruitment agents create debt bondage. Internally, Bangladeshis are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and bonded labor.

Tier rating: Tier 2 – The Bangladeshi government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Bangladesh continued raising awareness of trafficking and criminally prosecute and punish sex traffickers. The government also took steps to close labor recruitment agencies thought to use deceptive recruiting practices and opened cases for forced child labor. However, Bangladesh did not report any prison sentences or criminal convictions for involuntary servitude cases.

Source: 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report