Environmental Concerns for Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in the world. Per-capita income is very low, as is life expectancy (Table 1). In terms of poverty, 35.6 percent of the population falls below the national poverty line, of which 29.1 percent is below the international poverty line of US$1 per day — 1993 Purchasing Power Parity. Annual population growth in Bangladesh was about 2.5percent in the 1960s to 1980s but this has slowed to about 1.7 percent in the last decade. Despite an average Gross National Product (GNP) growth in recent decades of 3.9 percent, GNP per-capita growth in Bangladesh remains low — at about 1.4 percent. Bangladesh's Human Development Index (HDI) value is 0.478 and it has an HDI Rank of 145 out of 173 countries. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has stated that Bangladesh’s main problems include civil unrest and political instability, natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure.