Population control in reverse gear

It is highly alarming that after decades of steady progress, the country's population control is now in reverse gear. Government agencies appear to have lost control of population growth, leading to an undesirable increase in the birth rate. A nationwide survey, jointly conducted by the UNICEF and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), reveals a sharp rise in the average number of children per woman. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which measures the number of children a fertile woman gives birth to in her lifetime, has jumped from 2.17 in 2024 to 2.4 in 2025. This reversal is unprecedented in the country's history. Since independence, the TFR had been continuously declining. In 1971, Bangladesh's TFR was above 6.0, meaning women had more than six children on an average. Successive governments made TFR reduction a priority, and the rate continued to fall over the decades. Now, however, this progress is being undone due to laxity in the government's population control measures.

This laxity in the government's family planning activities marked by a serious shortage of manpower in family planning offices and a deficiency in birth control materials is being attributed to an ill-conceived policy of the ousted Awami League government. The deposed government reportedly viewed the issue of population growth not as a burden, rather as a blessing in the form of additional human resources. But in a densely populated country like Bangladesh, where more than 1,200 people live in per square kilometre, the numbers of the poor and the unemployed are growing, the notion that higher population growth will automatically lead to an increase in human resources is simply unrealistic and impractical. Rather, experts are of the view that the country's economic development will be greatly hampered if the present rate of population growth cannot be brought down to a reasonable limit.

Population growth does not only mean feeding extra mouths but also additional pressure on various resources. The graveness of the situation may easily be perceived if juxtaposed with the stark reality that cultivable land of the country is decreasing at the rate of one per cent per annum largely due to uncontrolled growth of population. Worse still, indiscriminate urbanisation and industrialisation and the climate change triggered by global warming have cast a negative impact on agriculture production in the country. Hence, if the agriculture land continues to shrink due to runaway population growth, no doubt a bleak future is awaiting the nation.

An integrated plan is, therefore, essential to bring the country's population growth under control. As experts have suggested, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare must reinvigorate its family planning activities, ensure an adequate supply of birth-control pills and other materials, and expand door-to-door services - particularly in poverty-stricken and slum areas - to curb the rising birth rate. The UNICEF-BBS survey once again shows that fertility rates are higher among poor, less educated and illiterate women, which underscores the need for targeted and inclusive family planning measures. In addition to direct family planning interventions, a sustainable solution requires tackling socioeconomic issues such as poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and child marriage. These socioeconomic factors are inextricably linked to family size and must be addressed to achieve a lasting solution to population growth. Alongside keeping the birth rate in check, steps must also be taken to transform children growing up in slums, streets and poor neighbourhoods into productive human resources through proper education, skills training and healthcare so that they can contribute meaningfully to national development.