Publication: Demographic Transition: Lessons from Bangladesh's Success Story
Date
2020-04-27
ISSN
Published
2020-04-27
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Bangladesh has been a star performer on
fertility reduction, reducing its TFR from 6.7 in 1960 to
2.1 in 2017 (i.e. the replacement level of fertility). As a
comparison, SSA countries reduced TFR by as little as 2
births per woman, on average, between 1970 and 2016 (World
Bank, 2019), with Niger, Chad and Democratic Republic of
Congo having similar levels of TFR in 2017 as they did in
the 1960s. Most countries at the pre-dividend stage of the
demographic transition, especially those in Africa, could
learn from Bangladesh's experience. In particular,
Bangladesh's fertility declines between 1975 and 1990,
when it was still grappling with serious economic and social
issues, were remarkable, and hold important lessons for
other countries striving for similar success in optimizing
their population growth. This brief case study documents how
Bangladesh achieved such a rapid fertility decline despite
economic constraints.
Citation
“World Bank. 2020. Demographic Transition: Lessons from Bangladesh's Success Story. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33672 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”