Mortality rate rises again for fourth year in a row: BBS

The mortality rate in Bangladesh rose once again for the fourth time in a row.

In 2023, the crude death rate was 6.1 in every 1,000, up from 5.8 in 2022, according to the Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2023 published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) today (24 March).

With the crude death rate seeing an increase of 0.3 in every 1,000 in a year, life expectancy has dropped as well.

The life expectancy of Bangladeshi people was 72.3 years in 2023 compared to 72.4 years in 2022.

The BBS report also said the rate in men is higher than in women, which is 6.8 in every 1,000 and 5.5 in every 1,000.

It also said the rate in villages is higher (6.4 in every 1000) than in cities (5.2 in every 1,000).

Ten most killer diseases in Bangladesh

Heart attack killed 1.02 in every 1,000 in Bangladesh in 2023, making it the biggest killer once again, same as last year.

The nine other diseases that killed Bangladeshis the most were strokes, respiratory diseases, liver cancer, asthma, common fever, high blood pressure, pneumonia, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, according to the BBS report.

The death rate from strokes increased in 2023.

The rate was 0.64 in every 1,000, up from 0.53 in every 1,000 the previous year.

Deaths from liver cancer also increased, with 0.27 in every 1,000 dying from the disease in 2023, compared to 0.23 the year before.

Deaths from asthma, on the other hand, decreased.

In 2023, 0.27 people per thousand died from asthma, down from 0.28 in 2022.

Deaths from common fever also decreased compared to the previous year.

While deaths from high blood pressure and diabetes increased in 2023, the death rates from pneumonia and heart diseases remained unchanged.

Child mortality rates increase

The mortality rate for children under five years has increased in the country.

In 2023, 33 out of every 1,000 children under the age of five died, compared to 31 in 2022, according to the BBS report.

The death rates for newborns and children under one year of age also rose.

The report says child mortality rates for those under five increased in both urban and rural areas.

Twenty out of every 1,000 newborns under one month in 2023, up from 16 in 2022.

Moreover, 27 out of every thousand children under one year of age died in 2023, an increase from 24 in 2022.