Statistical system faces capacity challenges

Bangladesh's statistical system is facing significant capacity challenges, a heavy reliance on projects, and the risk of political influence, Hossain Zillur Rahman, head of the expert taskforce tasked with strengthening the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), said today.

He made the remarks while speaking at a stakeholder consultation with journalists held at the BBS auditorium in Dhaka.

"Almost 50 percent of posts remain vacant in BBS. Many critical surveys face delays or remain unpublished simply because a 'chief guest' cannot attend the launch event," Rahman said, calling this an absurd bottleneck that undermines data transparency.

Rahman, also the executive chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre, stressed that BBS must be empowered to independently decide when to release statistical reports without waiting for political schedules.

At the event, he disclosed that the taskforce led by him is working through a three-pronged process: "deep-dive" institutional assessments, dialogues with stakeholders, and intensive listening sessions with BBS staff and professional associations.

According to him, the taskforce identified several challenges.

First, there is a severe shortage of manpower. Nearly half of the posts in BBS remain vacant. "This is a crippling constraint, especially for field-level data collection and analysis," said Rahman.

Second, BBS has become overly dependent on donor-funded projects.

"While projects are useful, this dependency distorts priorities and makes our core statistical work uncertain. We strongly believe that core surveys should be funded from the national budget to ensure sustainability," he said.

Third, there's a significant gap in training facilities. BBS does not have its own training academy.

All training is project-based, Rahman noted, saying this is not a sustainable way to build long-term institutional capacity.

Fourth, there is a rising demand for more rough data at district and even ward levels. "But our current survey designs often cannot provide this level of detail," he said, adding, "We need to address this gap if we want our statistics to serve real policy and business needs."

Fifth, there's always the risk of political influence.

"Statistics must remain independent and free from political pressure, especially when it comes to sensitive figures like GDP growth or inflation rates," Rahman stressed.

"These are the challenges we are confronting. And our aim is not to produce theoretical reports, but practical, realistic recommendations that will truly strengthen the statistical system of Bangladesh," he noted.

He also informed that the taskforce is set to prepare specific recommendations by August, including institutional reforms, human resource restructuring, career progression paths, and legal changes to the Statistics Act 2013 to empower BBS as the national statistical office.

"We are not producing a theoretical document. We want practical, actionable solutions based on ground realities," Rahman told journalists.

He also mentioned efforts to harmonise BBS data with that of other agencies, explore a single-window data platform, and improve communication, including making BBS's website more user-friendly and richer in Bangla content.

Also speaking at the event, Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue and member of the taskforce, said, "Our ultimate goal is to ensure reliable, high-quality, and accessible statistics that meet the demands of Bangladesh's citizens and support informed policymaking."

Atanu Rabbani, professor of the Department of Economics at Dhaka University, called on journalists to share relevant reports or publications—particularly in Bangla—to help the taskforce anchor its recommendations in local realities.

Journalists present on the occasion made a number of suggestions, including releasing a real-time survey report on agriculture, GDP, inflation, etc.