An aged society ahead

Bangladesh is hurtling to become an aged society, a worrying sign as it will pose challenges to its development aspiration since there will be more elderlies and the days of cheap workers will be over.

"Only Singapore is ahead of Bangladesh in terms of the duration to be an aged nation from an ageing country," said Tomoo Hozumi, country representative of Unicef.

He spoke at a webinar on "Paying Forward and Investing in Children Now:  Demographic changes in Bangladesh Trends and policy implications." The International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B) organised the event.

According to Hozumi, Bangladesh will turn into an aged nation in 18 years and Singapore by 17 years.

A country is considered an ageing nation if 7 per cent of the population are 65 years of age. If the rate doubles in the next seven years, it is called an aged society.

By 2029, Bangladesh will have 7 per cent of its population aged 65 and above, turning it into an ageing society. By 2047, it will become an aged country.

"The pace the ageing of Bangladesh's population is faster than even Japan," Hozumi said. 

The rapid ageing of the population indicates that industrialisation will suffer and cheap labourers will start declining if proper investment is not made in the education and healthcare sectors now.

Bangladesh has been enjoying the demographic dividend since 1978, and as of 2021, the country has reaped 78 per cent of the dividend, Hozumi said.

"Investment in children is not a charity," said Syed Manzur Elahi, chairman of Apex Footwear Ltd, while speaking on the role of the private sector in reaping the demographic dividend.

The entrepreneur described the quality of primary education in the country as very poor, although primary schools were considered as the root of quality education.

"The quality of secondary level education is equally inferior."

He raised questions about the governance in the expenditure for the education sector.

"Many Bangladeshi companies hire foreign nationals because of the non-availability of local experts."

With a view to attaining sustainable development, it is necessary to invest in children so that they can deal with future challenges, said Mahbubur Rahman, president of the ICC-B.

"This priority is aligned with the Eighth five-year plan, which calls for prioritising investment in today's children."

Bangladesh needed to facilitate the growth of young girls and women so that they could play a productive role and utilise their potentials, said Rokia Afzal Rahman, a vice-president of the chamber.

In 1960, about 20 people of working age supported one senior dependent in Bangladesh. By 2020, the ratio came down to about 13 persons, she said.

"By 2040, six working-age people will support one senior dependent," said the former caretaker government adviser.

AK Azad, another vice-president of the ICC-B, said one of the wealthiest persons of Bangladesh died of coronavirus infections recently as a ventilator could not be managed for him.

"The incident exposed the ills of the health sector," he said, adding that 65 per cent of people bear the cost for healthcare from their own pocket.

"We need to do something for society."

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) should work to improve the skills of millions of youths so they could be employed in the future, he said.

Two million people enter the job market every year. "We need to manage decent jobs for them," said Faruque Hassan, president of the BGMEA.

Nihad Kabir, president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, lauded the life expectancy of Bangladesh as a success story.

The life expectancy in Bangladesh is 73 years, and it was 46 at the birth of the nation half a century ago.

She called for increasing budgetary spending on quality education and health for the young population.

Md Jashim Uddin, president of the FBCCI, also suggesting increasing public expenditure in the education and health sectors to build a healthy nation.

Mahbubul Alam, president of the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Rizwan Rahman, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also spoke.