Nearly Half of Households in the Country Are in Debt; Expenses Exceed Income: BBS Survey

Rising prices of essential commodities and an increased cost of living have placed ordinary citizens under financial strain. According to a new survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 47.42 percent of households in the country have taken on debt over the past year to cover their living expenses.
This finding emerged from the "Living Standard Survey 2025," conducted at the request of the National Pay Commission.

The survey indicates that the tendency to borrow is highest in rural areas, where 51.91 percent of households have incurred debt. In contrast, this figure stands at 40.19 percent in other urban areas and 32.11 percent within city corporation areas.
The data on income and expenditure also reveal a concerning picture. Nationally, the average monthly income per household is 33,513 Taka, while the average monthly expenditure is 35,313 Taka—meaning that, on average, monthly expenses exceed income by 1,798 Taka.

In city corporation areas, the average monthly expenditure per household is 46,778 Taka; in other urban areas, it is 37,344 Taka; and in rural areas, it is 32,532 Taka.
The BBS conducted this survey by collecting data from 3,000 households across 150 sample areas in the country between September 14 and 18 of last year.
According to Zahid Hussain, former lead economist at the World Bank’s Dhaka office, the financial resilience of households is weakening due to persistent high inflation, an employment crisis, and a decline in real wages.
Experts fear that unless income and employment opportunities improve, the reliance of ordinary people on debt may continue to grow.