Bangladesh’s safety net spending far below South Asian average: GED report
A GED assessment finds 67.1% of poor people were excluded from safety net benefits in 2022, while 62.8% of beneficiaries were neither poor nor vulnerable.
Core poverty-focused safety net spending in Bangladesh remains critically low at just 0.9% of GDP – far below the South Asian average of 3.8%, says a General Economics Division (GED) report, warning that the limited allocation is undermining efforts to protect vulnerable populations amid rising poverty.
The latest assessment of Bangladesh's social protection system has identified serious structuFral weaknesses, including low spending, poor targeting and widespread inefficiencies, prompting urgent reforms under a new five-year strategy aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 10.
After reaching historic lows in 2022, with moderate poverty at 18.7% and extreme poverty at 5.6%, poverty rates have risen significantly. By 2025, moderate poverty was estimated at 27.93%, while extreme poverty had climbed to 9.35%, according to the report presented on the second day of a national conference today (11 August).
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the conference, titled "National Conference on Navigating Five Year Strategic Framework for Achieving SDGs: Policy, Partnership and Priorities", at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka on Monday.
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The report, prepared by the Planning Commission's GED, was presented at the event by Dr Monzur Hossain, member, GED, and Fahim Afsan Chowdhury, deputy chief, GED.
The assessment highlighted the scale of targeting inefficiencies and inclusion error, stating that around 62.8% of current safety-net beneficiaries are neither poor nor vulnerable, indicating widespread misallocation.
The system also has a significant gap in coverage for the urban poor. Of the 140 social safety net schemes currently in operation, only 23 are designed for urban populations, accounting for just 4% of total spending.
The policy bias leaves millions of urban poor people, particularly those affected by inflation and dependent on informal employment, largely outside the social protection system, the report said.
SDGs 1 and 10: Where Bangladesh stands
The report assessed Bangladesh's progress towards SDG 1, which aims to end poverty, and SDG 10, which seeks to reduce inequality.
It found that both extreme and multidimensional poverty have deepened since late 2022 amid a disconnect between economic growth and improvements in welfare. Persistent high food inflation, stagnant wages and high global import prices have placed heavy pressure on low-income households, reversing decades of gains in poverty reduction.
The report also highlighted widening inequality. Bangladesh's Gini coefficient stood at 0.499 in 2022, approaching the threshold for extreme inequality.
Income concentration has also intensified, with the top 10% of households controlling 41% of national income. Indirect taxes account for 66.7% of government revenue, disproportionately affecting lower-income groups.
Govt plans safety net overhaul
To address these gaps, the government is planning a National Social Safety Floor to ensure minimum income security for vulnerable populations.
A flagship initiative, the "Family Card", is set to be expanded nationwide. A Health Protection Fund is also planned to prevent families from falling into poverty because of major healthcare expenses.
The initiatives form part of the new five-year strategic framework for 2026–2031, which aims to address rising poverty and inequality following recent economic shocks.
State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki, the chief guest at the event, said there are currently more than 90 social safety net programmes under different ministries and that the government plans to reduce the number to fewer than 10.
The government has also taken initiatives to make beneficiary selection more universal through programmes such as the Family Card and Farmer Card, he said. This would reduce the scope for selecting beneficiaries on political grounds, he added.
The planning minister said government investment in education, healthcare and housing might not produce immediate benefits, but the returns would be much higher in the long term.
He said the current budget allocates 2% of GDP to education and 1% to healthcare. The government aims to raise both allocations to 5% in the future, he said, adding that this would require an increase in the overall size of the national budget
