Nearly three in ten children in Bangladesh, 28.9 percent, live in multidimensional poverty, according to the country's first National Multidimensional Poverty Index, released in July 2025 by the General Economics Division with UNICEF, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the EU, and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. That rate is significantly higher than for adults, at 21.44 percent, which means children carry a heavier share of poverty than the population as a whole.
What multidimensional poverty means
This measure looks beyond income. It counts overlapping deprivations across health, education, and living standards, things like poor housing, lack of sanitation, no electricity, and missed schooling. A person is considered multidimensionally poor when affected by several of these at once. It captures the lived reality of poverty more fully than a simple income line.
Children are hit hardest
The headline finding is that children are about 35 percent more likely to be in multidimensional poverty than adults, according to the index. In total, the report found that around 39.8 million people, or 24.1 percent of the population, live in multidimensional poverty. Among the deprivations measured, school attendance emerged as the single largest contributor to child poverty, which is why education is so central to fixing it.
Where it is worst
The report revealed sharp regional gaps. Five districts had poverty rates above 40 percent: Bandarban, which topped the list at 65.36 percent, followed by Cox's Bazar, Sunamganj, Rangamati, and Bhola. Among the divisions, Sylhet recorded the highest rate at 37.7 percent, forming a poverty cluster in the east. Rural and remote areas consistently fare worse than urban ones.
There is real progress too
The picture is not only bleak. UNICEF's State of the World's Children 2025 reported that child poverty in Bangladesh fell by 32 percentage points between 2000 and 2023, driven by gains in education and electricity access, better housing, and investment in water and sanitation. The direction is positive, which means targeted support can move the numbers.
How giving can help
Because schooling is the largest driver of child poverty, education-focused giving is among the most effective:
- Fund schooling, meals, and supplies, which keep children in school. On Uddom, Charity Right Bangladesh raised around 30 lakh taka for a school meal programme reaching thousands of students, a clear example of education-linked giving at work.
- Support transparent, registered organisations working in the hardest-hit districts. (See how to sponsor a child.)
- Give where you can see the impact, through verified, trackable channels.
On Uddom, education and child-focused campaigns are verified before they go live and reported on afterwards, so your support reaches real programmes.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of children in Bangladesh live in poverty? According to the country's first National Multidimensional Poverty Index (July 2025), 28.9 percent of children, nearly three in ten, live in multidimensional poverty, compared with 21.44 percent of adults.
Which areas of Bangladesh have the highest child poverty? Bandarban had the highest rate at 65.36 percent, followed by Cox's Bazar, Sunamganj, Rangamati, and Bhola. Sylhet division recorded the highest divisional rate at 37.7 percent.
By Md. Sowad Al-Mughni, Uddom. Last updated: April 2026.