Is Bangladesh Ready?

Bangladesh has seen major changes in people’s lifestyles and life expectancy. In 1972, the average life expectancy in the country was only 46.5 years. Today, it is above 70 years. According to the United Nations, life expectancy at birth in Bangladesh was around 74 years in 2023. At the same time, the fertility rate has declined. As a result, Bangladesh is moving rapidly towards an ageing population.

According to the latest Population and Housing Census, Bangladesh had around 15 million people aged 60 or above in 2022. They accounted for 9.29 percent of the total population. The United Nations estimates that the number could exceed 36 million by 2050. This means the number of elderly people could more than double in just over two decades.

However, elderly people and retired people should not be considered the same group. The retirement age and rules are different for different professions in Bangladesh. Therefore, there is no reliable single national figure showing how many people are currently retired. But the scale of government pension and old-age allowance programmes shows that social security needs related to retirement and old age have already become significant.

Bangladesh’s housing system, however, has not yet kept pace with this demographic change. Purpose-built, safe and age-friendly housing for retired people is still largely absent. At the same time, children moving abroad or to other cities, smaller families and the busy nature of urban life could increase the risk of elderly people living alone in the future.

Retirement housing could be a possible solution to this challenge. It is not the same as an old-age home. Rather, it is a planned residential community where older people can live independently in their own apartments. At the same time, healthcare facilities, pharmacies, emergency services, security, recreation areas and walking spaces can be available nearby. Home-care or assisted-living services can also be provided when necessary.

Different countries around the world have already developed such housing models for their ageing populations. Bangladesh can learn from these experiences and develop a model suitable for its own social and economic conditions.

Planning for retirement housing should begin now. A large part of today’s young and working population will become elderly within the next 15 to 20 years.

Ageing, therefore, is not only a problem for the future. It is already an issue for today’s housing planning. The real estate sector now needs to ask an important question: should it focus only on building more flats, or should it also plan what kind of homes and lifestyles Bangladesh’s future senior citizens will need?