The country’s women have outnumbered men for the first time in its population census history, a sign of a demographic shift that experts say is not unusual in the global context.
According to the 2022 Population and Household Census Preliminary Report released on Wednesday, the county’s total population is 16,51,58,616, up from 14,40,43,697 in 2011, with a growth rate of 1.22 percent instead. from the previous 1.37. percent.
Among the population, the number of women stands at 8,33,47,206, against the number of men at 8,17,12,824, with a ratio of 50.50% to 49.50%.
After the previous census in 2011, the number of males was recorded at 7,21,09,796 while the number of females was 7,19,33,901.
Former head of the population science department at Dhaka University, Dr Mohammad Mainul Islam, said women outnumbered their male counterparts for the first time in six censuses since 1974.
The change in pattern is not unusual given falling maternal deaths, rising life expectancies and more men looking for work abroad than women. , did he declare.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, which conducted the census digitally for the first time, recorded the sex ratio at 98.04 nationwide, meaning there are 98.04 males to 100 females.
The sex ratio was 100.3 in 2011.
Mainul Islam said that the sex ratio between 95 and 105 is acceptable but above or below this figure reflects various problems including social and economic issues in a country.
Although the rate of population growth is decreasing, the population density continues to grow nationwide to 1,119 from the previous 976.
As usual, Dhaka topped the divisions with a population density of 2,156 instead of the previous 1,521, while Barisal has the lowest population density with 688 instead of the previous 650.
Among corporations in the city, Dhaka South City Corporation topped the population density with 39,353, compared to Dhaka North City Corporation’s 30,474.
However, the population under the Dhaka North City Corporation at 59,79,537 is greater than the population under the Dhaka South City Corporation at 42,99,345.
Thus, the population of the nation’s capital was calculated at 1,02,78,882, which was around 69,76,105 in 2011 under the undivided Dhaka City Corporation.
Dhaka Division also leads in population growth with 1.74 out of eight divisions, but the rate has fallen by 0.20 percentage points over the past decade.
The last housing census revealed that 31.51% lived in urban areas and 68.49% in rural areas.
Apart from Muslims, the populations of other religious communities have declined in the country, according to the preliminary report of the sixth census.
Muslims constitute 91% of the population while Hindus fell to 7.95% in 2022 from 8.5% in 2011. The Buddhist population fell to 0.61% in 2022 from 0.62% in 2011.
The size of ethnic minority populations has increased from 1.10% in 2011 to 1% of the total population in 2022.
The signature-capable population increased to 74.66% from the previous census figure of 51.77%.
The number of Internet users represents 30.68% of the total population.
For the first time, the BBS which used digital people counting devices recorded the number of transgender people at 12,629, with the number of such people being slightly higher in urban areas than in rural areas.
The total number of restaurants in the country is 4.10 crore. At the last census, it was 3.21 crore. The number of families – with four members – is now 4.10 crore.
Provisional data of the “6th Population and Housing Census 2022” was revealed by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics during a press conference at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The census was due to end on June 21 but due to flooding in the northeastern districts, it continued until June 28.
Jatiya Sangsad’s Spokesperson Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, Minister of Planning MA Mannan, Minister of State for Public Administration Farhad Hossain and Minister of State for Planning Shamsul Alam attended the occasion.