Nearly eight percent of the jobs in Bangladesh are concentrated in Dhaka city, and 40 percent are concentrated in the greater Dhaka region, which includes Gazipur and Narayanganj cities. Such extreme concentration of people and economic activities in the capital are having negative impacts on the national economy, according to a new study. The study found that some 31.9 percent of Bangladesh’s urban population live in Dhaka, whereas the country’s major cities that have over a million inhabitants contain only 3.5 percent of the urban population. In the last 10 years, Dhaka’s population has increased by more than 50 percent.

In 2017, Bangladesh’s per capita income and GDP was 11 percent lower than its potential, due to the excessive concentration of resources and economic activities in the city. In 2019, the GDP loss as a result of that amounted to USD 35 billion. At present, Bangladesh is losing 6-10 percent of its GDP because Dhaka’s growth has crossed the optimum rate—and that is a huge loss. That just goes to show how long overdue it is for the government to take measures to try and reduce the huge population load that is currently on Dhaka.

Another issue of major concern is that such overpopulation is leading to urban poverty remaining stagnant. For example, the study shows that from 2010 to 2016, the extreme poverty rate in rural areas declined from 21.1 to 14.9 percent, but there was virtually no change in urban poverty rate. Additionally, the traffic congestion that arises from this huge concentration of people is causing losses amounting to 2.9 percent of the country’s GDP.

All things considered, it is becoming increasingly clear that not only is the population burden on Dhaka leading to worsening living conditions, but it is also causing significant economic losses, as well as environmental damage. Therefore, it’s high time for the government to urgently develop other regions of the country to try and reduce some of the load from Dhaka. Some decentralisation measures and locating the government’s own agencies—most of which are in Dhaka—outside of the capital would be great steps towards that end. City authorities also need to be empowered so that they can pursue the necessary development goals that they have on their own, instead of always having to rely on the centre. Whatever steps the government can take, it should take them now, before Dhaka’s overpopulation situation becomes worse and the city becomes completely uninhabitable.