Child Equity Atlas - BIDS

Population Distribution and Demographic Situation
Population Distribution and Demographic Situation
2.0.0 Population distribution and density
by divisions, districts, upazilas and other
administrative units are vital for informed
development planning and public policy dialogue
for equitable social development. Since the
administrative divisions are not based on uniform
population units, it is important to understand
the population distribution of the country and the
demographic structure to provide policy makers
with the geospatial socioeconomic trends and
their policy implications, especially for the rights
of children and women.
2.0.1 In this chapter, relevant demographic
indicators such as the proportion of the
population below 18, population below five, sex
ratio for under five, the proportion of women of
childbearing age (15-49 years), the proportion of
married female teenagers (15-19 years), and the
proportion of female headed households have
been analyzed.
2.1 Age-sex Composition and Population Density
2.1.0 The age structure of a population is both
an outcome of past trends in fertility and mortality
levels, the predictor of future demographic and
economic growth and an indirect measure of the
success of previous policies. In 1975, the population
pyramid of Bangladesh was characterized by a very
wide base with gradual tapering to a pointed tip,
in the shape of a triangle - indicative of young
population, with very large population of children
of 0-4 years. According to the UNFPA, the total
population growth rate has decreased from 2.3 per
cent in 1981, to 1.6 per cent in 2001, and stands
at 1.34 per cent in 2011, underpinned by success
of child survival programmes and partnerships in
Bangladesh. The surviving children aged 0-4 years
as at 1975 have today transitioned into the 40 year
old age cohort in the Bangladesh population (Figure
2.1). According to the World Bank 9 , total fertility rate
(births per woman) has decreased from 6.8 (1975)
Male
Figure 2.1: Population pyramid of Bangladesh 2011
Age Group
65+
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
Female
14
12
10
8
6
4
2 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Population (in percentage)
9
World Bank 2012, World Development Indicators (WDI) and Global Development Finance (GDF), 2012, http://data.worldbank.
org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators
13