DHAKA, Nov 28, 2023 (BSS) - Bangladesh's total population reached 16,98,28,911, according to the national report of the country's maiden full-fledged digital population and housing census.

Of the total population, 8,41,34,003 are male while 8,56,86,784 are female. Besides, 8,124 third gender people in the country.

These were revealed at the launching of the 'National Report' of the Population and Housing Census 2022 held at the auditorium of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in the capital's Agargaon area today.

Planning Minister MA Mannan spoke at the function as the chief guest while Planning Commission member (senior secretary) Mst Nasima Begum, Statistics and Informatics Division Secretary Dr Shahnaz Arefin, and General Economics Division (GED) member of the Planning Commission Dr Md Kawser Ahmed spoke as special guests presided over by Director General of the BBS Mohammad Mizanur Rahman.

Project Director of the Population and Housing Census 2021 Md Dilder Hossain made a power-point presentation on the National Report of the Census while Statistics and Informatics Division Joint Secretary Dr Dipankar Roy moderated the open discussion session.

The National report said from the data that in 2022 census, the enumerated population recorded 16,51,58,616 and the adjusted population 16,98,28,911. The percentages of adjusted population living in the rural and the urban areas are 68.34% and 31.66% respectively. Out of the total enumerated population of 16,51,58,616, male is 8,17,69,266, fee 8,33,81,226 and hijra 8,124.

The Post Enumeration Check (PEC) survey was carried out by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). As per the PEC survey findings, the Net Coverage Error (NCE) of the Population and Housing Census 2022 was found at 2.75% which is the lowest ever in the census history of Bangladesh.

Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that he was satisfied with the overall findings of the census adding that the capacity of the BBS has increased over the years on the whole.

Mannan also suggested for conducting the population census operations in every five years and if possible in real time instead of conducting it in every 10 years.

Planning Commission member Mst Nasima Begum said that the BBS has been able to create the hunger of data among the common people, academicians and students.

Statistics and Informatics Division Secretary Dr Shahnaz Arefin said that after the main operations of the population and housing census, they were able to publish the PEC report and National Report within the shortest possible time.

She also revealed the BBS's plan to roll out National Population Register in future instead of carrying out population census in every 10 years.

"We've discharged our duties accordingly while conducting the census....BBS do act properly while collecting data and thus publishing it," Nasima added.

Country's renowned economists Dr Ahsan H Mansoor, while commenting on the national report, said that the BBS has done a tremendous job and now it is high time to translate the findings of the census into the government policies.

In order to let the BBS to operate freely and independently, the eminent economist suggested that the BBS should be entrusted under the jurisdiction of Jatiya Sangsad. "If so, the trust of the common people on the BBS will increase further."

GED member Md Kawser Ahmed recommended for revealing data by the various bodies in a harmonized manner in a bid to avoid differences in number.

The National report said the total population living in slum areas is 17,36,302 and the total population counted as floating is 22,185. By division, it is evident that the highest number of population, 4,42,15,759 live in Dhaka while the lowest, 91,00,104 in Barishal.

It is found that the percentages of population live in general institutional and other households are 97.03, 1.52 and 1.45 respectively. In the case of general household, the percentages of male headed and female headed households are 82.10 and 17.90 respectively.

The average annual growth rate of population decreased to 1.22% in 2022 from 1.48% in 2011. The rates are 1.12% for male and 1.31% for female. The total population of the city corporation areas is 2,11,22,930, of which male is 1,12,18,546 (53.11%), female 99,02,995 (46.88%) and third gender 1,389 (0.007%).

In the case of density, Dhaka South City Corporation is recorded as the most densely populated area where population of 39,406 live in per square kilometer. It is observed from the analysis that at the national level, the highest, 10.03% of the total population belong to the age of 15-19 years.

On the contrary, analyzing the figures by cumulative percentages, it is found that the population below 15 years and 30 years, and 60 years are 28.60% and 56.42% and 90.73%, respectively. At the national level the sex ratio is evident at 98.07, dependency ratio at 52.63 and child-woman ratio at 332.38. At the national level, out of the population aged 10 years and above, currently married population is 65.08% and never married 28.82%.

The singulate mean age at marriage for male and female are 25.28 and 19.29 years respectively at the national level. It is observed from the data that, the percentages of Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and others religion are 91.08%, 7.96%, 0.61%, 0.30% and 0.06% respectively in the country. The total number of persons with disabilities is reported as 22,65,201, hich is 1.37% of the total population of the country.

The literacy rate of the population aged 7 years and above at the national level is 74.80 % which is 76.71 % for male and 72.94% for female. The rate is recorded as 71.68 % in the rural areas while it is 81.45% in the urban areas for the population of the same age group.

The total number of ethnic population in the country is 16,50,478 of which male is 49.98%, and female 50.02%.

The total number of households in the country stands at 4,10,08,217 of which 2,78,19,445 are located in the rural areas and 1,31,88,772 in the urban areas.

It is observed that as many as 99.24% of households are under electricity coverage across the country. It is apparent that, in total, 59.31% of the country use households in wood/chalk/chopped wood as the main source of cooking fuel, followed by supply gas with 14.18%, which is the second highest.

The total number of remittance recipient households in the country is recorded as 39,50,155, of which the highest, 42.43% is accounted for in the Chattogram division. The average size of households has been decreased to 3.98 in 2022 which was 5.6 in 1974. The four-member households score the highest, with 1,04,60,083, in the country, which is 25.98% of the total.

The country's population was 144,043,697 in 2011, according to the previous census in 2011.

The country's first Population and Housing Census was held in 1974
followed by the 2nd census in 1981, the 3rd one in 1991, the 4th
census in 2001 while the 5th one in 2011.

On 15 June 2022, the 6th census and house enumeration activities started
simultaneously across the country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
launched the week-long census at a ceremony at her official residence
Gonobhaban in the capital.

The census was scheduled to end on June 21, but due to floods in the
northeastern districts, the census continued till June 28.
The BBS conducted the census after more than 11 years.