Bangladesh has made good progress inreducing poverty over the past decade despite the series ofexternal shocks which have routinely affected the country.Poverty fell from 49 percent in 2000 to 40 percent in 2005,propelled by respectable economic growth and relativelystable inequality. These statistics are reflected intangible improvements in poor people's lives, such as asharp reduction in those living under flimsy straw roofs inrural areas. Unfortunately, climatic shocks such as the 2007floods and cyclone, as well as rising food prices, haveslowed the country's progress in reducing poverty.Despite these setbacks we expect that Bangladesh will reachits Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the numberof people living in extreme poverty by 2015. Povertyreduction is not just about improving household income, butalso about enhancing human capability. Our optimism inBangladesh's future is also based on its significantgains in human development over the past 15 years. Despiteits recent progress in reducing poverty, Bangladesh remainsa poor country with about 56 million poor people in 2005 andcontinuing disparities across occupational groups, gender,and regions. Although growing regional inequality ischaracteristic of many developing countries experiencingrapid economic growth, Bangladesh is somewhat unique in thatthe natural boundaries created by its rivers limitintegration between economically unequal geographic areas.This report shows that higher productivity in agriculture,job creation in urban growth poles and promoting migrationwill be essential for further poverty reduction acrossBangladesh. Sustaining this reduction will requiremaintaining the progress made thus far in slowing populationgrowth, and providing better quality options in schoolingand healthcare. Another urgent priority is to bettercoordinate the country's existing safety net system inorder to expand effective programs in line with the needs ofthe poor.
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