One of the more extraordinary data comparisons is between the number of Covid-19 deaths of those, on the one hand, who are ethnically Bangladeshi but living outside Bangladesh and on the other hand, the number of Covid-19 deaths of Bangladeshis who live in Bangladesh.
England: There are about 510,721 people with Bangladeshi ethnicity living in England.*
According to UK government data, as of 13 May, 182 of these “Bangladeshis” died from the Covid-19 virus in England.
That is a rate of death of 356 per million Bangladeshis.
It is not known how many more people of Bangladeshi origin have died in the five weeks since 13 May.**
Saudi Arabia: There are about 2.3 million Bangladeshi migrant workers living in Saudi Arabia.
According to Golam Moshi, the Bangladeshi ambassador in Saudi Arabia, speaking on June 18th, 375 of them had died from Covid-19.
That is a death rate of about 163 per million Bangladesh migrant workers.
The total number of people who have died in Saudi Arabia from Covid-19 is 1,307. Assuming Moshi’s data is consistent with the official Saudi Arabian figures, this would suggest that over one quarter of all those who have died in Saudi Arabia are Bangladeshi migrant workers! In fact the overall death rate in Saudi Arabia, with a population of around 35 million, is only 38 deaths per million***
USA: There are an estimated 500,000 people of Bangladeshi origin in the USA.****
According to a Bangladeshi diplomat in the USA, who spoke to Netra News off the record, there are thought to be 252 people of Bangladeshi ethnicity who have died from Covid-19 in the USA.
This is a death rate of about 504 per million amongst Bangladeshis.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh has an estimated population of 165 million. By official reports, 1,545 people have died from Covid-19
That is a death rate of 9 per million
The total number of ethnically Bangladeshis who are understood to have died from Covid-19 in just the three countries of England, USA and Saudi Arabia is 809 — out of a total “Bangladeshi” population in those 3 countries of just over 3.3 million Bangladeshis. 809 deaths constitutes over half the total number of official deaths from Covid-19 in Bangladesh (1.545) which has a population of 164 million — 54 times the ethnically Bangladeshi population in those three countries.
How does one square this huge (counter intuitive) differential in the low death rate of Bangladeshis in Bangladesh compared to the high death rates of “Bangladeshis” living in other countries — particularly when in Bangladesh it is far less easy to socially isolate, and where the health system is far less developed?
This is perhaps just another way of asking the same question as previously posed — why is the death rate in Bangladesh still so relatively low?
And one comes back with the same answers. Either the nature of the virus strain in Bangladesh is simply not as deadly, or the hot weather subdues the virus or there is some other factor currently not known or perhaps we are still not far enough into Bangladesh’s Covid-19 epidemic to make an assessment.
Alternatively, the official death figures in Bangladesh are just not credible — and that many many more people in Bangladesh are dying from Covid-19, without being officially tested — and the government is not interested in seeking to add these to the official count.
— — — — —
* In 2011 Census there were 436,514 people who were ethnically Bangladeshi, and since then it is said that there has been a 17% increase.
** According to UK government research after accounting for the effect of sex, age, deprivation and region, people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had around twice the risk of death when compared to people of White British ethnicity.
*** It should be noted that Saudi Arabia is in a category of its own where it seems Bangladeshi migrant workers are at a huge increased risk compared to ordinary Saudi Arabians — presumably because of the discriminatory way in which they are treated and housed.
**** It is difficult to state categorically what is the ethnically Bangladeshi population in the USA. The Pew Centre estimates the figure in 2015 to be about 200,000; the Migration Policy Instiute in 2014 suggest that it is around 270,000 but Bangladesh embassy officials in the US suggest that the number is closer to 1 million.
//David Bergman
