Poverty in Bangladesh: Impact of Natural Disasters on Economic Development

Running head: POVERTY IN BANGLADESH
Poverty in Bangladesh
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1POVERTY IN BANGLADESH
Poverty is a problem from which the majority of the countries of the world are
suffering at the current moment. One of the major reasons for the increase in the number of
people living below the line of poverty is because of the fact of unequal distribution of wealth
within the framework of a society or nation (Osman, Shahan and Jahan 2015). There are
other factors as well for the increase in the number of people living below the line of poverty
in the various under developed as well as the developing nations of the world like the lack of
job opportunities, educational opportunities, high rate of inflation, natural disasters and others
(Osman, Shahan and Jahan 2015). These factors have contributed in a cumulative manner to
further enhance the distress felt by the people of the various nations of the world. Thus,
according to the World Bank (2018), more than half of the population of the world, that is,
nearly 3 billion people of the world had to sustain themselves with less than $2.50 per day in
addition to the 1.5 billion population of the world which lives below the extreme poverty line,
that is, had to sustain themselves with only $1.25 per day. Furthermore, according to a report
of UNICEF (2018), more than 22,000 children from the different parts of the world had to
die every day because of poverty. Therefore, it would be apt to say that poverty is one of the
major problems which is inflicting the world at the current moment and its remedy is of
paramount importance for the maintenance of the normal life of the individuals. This essay
will discuss about the poverty in the nation of Bangladesh in the backdrop of the various
natural disasters which are a common part of the nation.
The “People's Republic of Bangladesh” located in the southern part of the continent
of Asia is a developing nation (Khan et al. 2015). The nation was once a part of the Indian
Subcontinent and it was in the year 1971 that the nation gained independence from the Indian
subcontinent (Khan et al. 2015). The economy of the nation is the 43rd largest one of the
world in terms of the nominal wealth and the 30th largest one in terms of the purchasing
power (World Bank. 2018). The primary source of wealth of the nation is the agricultural

2POVERTY IN BANGLADESH
sector of the nation and this particular sector contributes in a significant manner towards the
subsistence of the nation (Daoud, Halleröd and Guha-Sapir 2016). In the recent times it is
seen that the nation has developed various kinds of industries which has contributed in a
significant manner towards the revival of the economy of the nation (Daoud, Halleröd and
Guha-Sapir 2016). Another recent trend seen in the nation is that the various companies
belonging to the first world countries as well as the developed nations of the world are
outsourcing as well as offshoring their business operations to this nation because of the cheap
labor costs and also because of the comparatively less cost of business operation s in this
particular nation (Khan et al. 2015). However, the major problem which is inflicting the
nation at the current moment is the problem of poverty. According to a statistics, the poverty
rate of the nation is around 31%, which means that almost 31% citizens of the nation are
living below the poverty line and had to sustain themselves at only $1.25 per day (World
Bank. 2018). Furthermore, according to another statistics provided by the World Bank, the
nation has shown signs of improvement in terms of the level of poverty which it is facing at
the current. Thus, the poverty rate of the nation has decreased by almost 18% in the last five
years and the poverty percentage of the nation is expected to come under 10% by the year
2030 (World Economic Forum. 2018). This is generally seen to be the end result of the
policies adopted by the government of the nation and also the venture of the various foreign
companies in the nation from the different nations of the world (Daoud, Halleröd and Guha-
Sapir 2016). However, recent events have shown that one of the major factors which have
contributed in a significant manner towards the high rate of poverty faced by the nation is the
numerous natural disasters that constantly plague the nation (Matin and Rahman 2018). For
instance, in the past 38 years as many as 38 major cyclones have wreaked havoc in the nation
in addition to the numerous storms, floods, earthquakes and the other kinds of natural
disasters (Matin and Rahman 2018).

3POVERTY IN BANGLADESH
Human beings have made a significant amount of advancement in the recent times
and this is reflected in the lifestyle lead by the people and quality of healthcare and other
kinds of facilities which the people have access to in the present times (Hernandez et al.
2016). However, it is significant to note that inspite of the technological and other kinds of
advancements made by the people they have yet not been able to control the various
processes of nature and it is a reflection of this particular fact that various kinds of natural
disasters still continue to inflict the human beings just like they used to inflict the human
beings thousands of years ago (Hernandez et al. 2016). Thus, in the present times as well it is
seen that various kinds of natural disasters continue to inflict the human society in the form of
various kinds of storms, cyclones, floods, earthquakes and others (Alam et al. 2018). These
natural disasters cause a significant amount of damage not only in terms of economic
drainage but at the same time in terms of loss of property, lives and other aspects (Alam et al.
2018). In addition to these, it is generally seen that these natural disasters cause a significant
amount of harm to the mental as well as the emotional well being of the individuals as well
(Alam et al. 2018).
The nation of Bangladesh is prone to various kinds of natural disasters since the
ancient times and many experts are of the viewpoint that one of the primary reasons for this
particular fact is the natural location of the nation (Mondal et al. 2015). Thus, because of the
natural location of the nation the nation every year ends up having a number of storms,
cyclones, norwesters and others (Mondal et al. 2015). The various kalboishakhi which the
nation faces every year during and after the rainy season is a pertinent example of this
particular fact (Mondal et al. 2015). The June 2007 landslide which nation faced killed more
than 160 people and rendered more than 6,000 people homeless (Mondal et al. 2015). In
addition to these, the major natural calamity which the nation faced in the year 2004, namely,
Tsunami was by far the biggest natural calamity that the nation faced in terms of the damage