A survey by The Asia Foundation and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) has revealed that people’s expectations about the country’s political and economic conditions have decreased more than five years ago.
This survey was conducted under the title ‘Citizens Protection Survey on the Governance, Development and Society’ from February to March this year. The survey report has been prepared based on the responses of 6,784 people from 64 districts by selecting 106 respondents from each district. The two institutions conducted similar surveys in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
According to a circular of the organization conducting the survey, optimism about the economy is decreasing among people of all income groups of the country. Negative attitude towards the economy is highest among those whose income is 5 thousand rupees per month or less. In 2019, 84 percent of low-income respondents said the economy was on the right track. In 2024, it drops significantly to 42 percent. The survey revealed that not only the low-income people, but also among the respondents of all the income-based categories of the country, expectations about economy and politics are decreasing
Asked whether the country is moving in the right direction socially, politically and economically, 58 percent of the respondents said, ‘Bangladesh is moving in the wrong direction.’ In 2017, only 17 percent of citizens held such an opinion. More than half i.e. 52 percent of the respondents identified the rise in prices of daily necessities as a significant economic problem of the country. 95 percent of respondents said price hikes are negatively impacting their lives and livelihoods.
Asked how they rate the relationship with the government – 40 percent of respondents said they see their relationship with the government as a ‘prime minister versus citizen relationship’, while 29 percent of respondents view the government as a benevolent patron and protector. 14 percent of citizens feel they have nothing to do with the government, compared to 9 percent in 2022.The survey also tried to understand how people think about news and mass media. It has emerged that people are choosing internet-based platforms like Facebook and YouTube as a source of news over mainstream media.