Published: 12:01 AM, 07 November 2026
The Middle Class Under Pressure: Is Economic Survival Becoming a Daily Battle?
Md. Al-Amin Chowdhury
Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in economic development, industrialization, infrastructure and export earnings over the recent decades. Yet beneath these achievements, a growing economic concern is emerging: the middle class is struggling to maintain its standard of living. Rising prices of essential commodities, increasing housing costs, expensive education, healthcare expenditure and stagnant salaries are gradually eroding the financial security of salaried families. For many households, a regular job no longer guarantees a comfortable life. Instead, earning a monthly salary has become a continuous exercise in balancing essential expenses, managing debt and sacrificing future savings.
Bangladesh's population reached approximately 175.7 million in 2025, according to United Nations estimates. This enormous population creates both economic opportunities and significant employment challenges. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' Labour Force Survey 2024 reported approximately 71.71 million people in the labour force, of whom 69.09 million were employed and 2.62 million unemployed. The unemployment rate stood at approximately 3.66 per cent. However, these figures do not fully reflect underemployment, informal employment, inadequate wages or people who have stopped looking for work.
The World Bank has also highlighted that approximately two million young people enter Bangladesh's labour market annually. Creating sufficient quality employment opportunities for this growing workforce remains a major challenge. The private sector, particularly the ready-made garment (RMG) industry, plays a central role in employment generation. Bangladesh's garment industry employs approximately four million workers and contributes more than 80 per cent of merchandise export earnings. Beyond garments, millions of people work in real-state, agriculture, banking, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, retail, construction, transport, manufacturing, education, healthcare and other private organizations.
However, employment does not necessarily mean economic security. Many private-sector employees receive salaries that are insufficient to maintain a reasonable standard of living, particularly in major cities.
One of the major economic pressures facing middle-class families is the responsibility of supporting several dependants through a single income. According to the Population and Housing Census 2022, Bangladesh's average household size was approximately four members. In many families, however, a single salaried individual supports a spouse, two children and sometimes elderly parents or other relatives.
A monthly salary of Tk 35,000 or Tk 40,000 may initially appear reasonable. However, when this income must support four or five family members, the financial limitations become evident.
A family must allocate money for food, accommodation, children's education, medical treatment, transportation, clothing, utility bills and social obligations. There is also pressure to support parents, maintain savings and prepare for emergencies. Consequently, the income of one earning member is often stretched across several competing responsibilities.
The situation becomes more difficult when a family loses its sole income source through unemployment, illness, organizational restructuring or retirement.
The rising cost of living has become one of the most significant threats to middle-class financial stability. A 2025 household survey by PPRC, reported by Bangladeshi national daily, found that the middle 40 per cent of households had an average monthly income of approximately Tk 28,818 against expenditure of Tk 29,727 in village areas. Urban households earned an average Tk 40,578 but spent Tk 44,961 monthly. These findings demonstrate the growing mismatch between household earnings and expenditure.
Food is the largest recurring expense. The survey estimated that food accounted for approximately 55 per cent of average household expenditure, or around Tk 20,614 nationally. Urban families, particularly those with children, face substantially higher costs for fish, meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, fruits, cooking oil and other necessities.
Housing is another major burden. Middle-income families in Dhaka and other metropolitan areas often spend a considerable portion of their salaries on rent, utility bills and transportation amount almost TK:26,000/-. Families who cannot afford to live near their workplaces must also bear substantial commuting expenses.
Education has become increasingly expensive. School fees, admission charges, books, uniforms, coaching, transportation and examination expenses place additional pressure on parents. Many middle-class families believe that private educational institutions are necessary to secure better opportunities for their children, even when the costs exceed their financial capacity.
Healthcare expenditure is equally concerning. Consultation fees, diagnostic tests, medicines, hospital charges and emergency treatment can consume several months of savings. The absence of comprehensive health insurance forces many families to pay directly for medical services.
Clothing and other personal expenses are frequently postponed. Families reduce shopping, avoid recreational activities and limit social participation to manage essential costs. Annual expenses for festivals, weddings, household repairs and children's special needs further disturb their financial calculations.
The question of food affordability deserves particular attention. Having enough food to avoid hunger does not necessarily mean having access to a nutritionally balanced diet. According to a 2025 United Nations food security assessment, approximately 67.8 million people in Bangladesh, representing 38.6 per cent of the population, could not afford a healthy diet. Although this figure covers the wider population rather than the middle class alone, it demonstrates the seriousness of the national affordability problem.
For salaried families, rising food prices often lead to adjustments in consumption. Households may reduce purchases of fish, meat, milk, fruits and other protein-rich foods while relying more heavily on rice and inexpensive carbohydrates. Parents may prioritize children's meals while compromising their own nutritional requirements.
Such adjustments can create long-term consequences for physical health, children's development and workplace productivity. Economic pressure should not force working families to choose between paying rent and maintaining a nutritious diet.
The salary structure across Bangladesh's private sector remains highly uneven. While senior executives and specialized professionals may receive relatively high remuneration, many administrative officers, junior managers, teachers, bank employees, sales personnel and other salaried professionals earn considerably less.
The garment sector illustrates this challenge. The minimum monthly wage for workers in non-EPZ garment factories was fixed at Tk 12,500 in December 2023. Supervisory, administrative and mid-level employees generally receive higher salaries, but remuneration varies widely according to experience, factory size and responsibility.
There is no comprehensive national database establishing a single salary range for Bangladesh's middle class. Nevertheless, employees earning Tk 25,000–60,000 monthly in many private-sector occupations can face serious financial difficulties, especially when they are the sole earners in urban households.
The central problem is not simply the amount of salary but its purchasing power. When prices rise faster than wages, real income declines, savings disappear and household debt increases.
Many countries address the cost-of-living challenge through a combination of wage protection, affordable public services and social security. European countries have introduced different forms of inflation-sensitive wage adjustments, unemployment protection and publicly funded healthcare. Singapore combines housing policies, compulsory savings and targeted assistance, while several Scandinavian countries maintain extensive social protection and affordable public services.
Bangladesh does not need to replicate another country's economic model. However, it can adopt practical measures suited to its own economic capacity.
Government of Bangladesh have to take following policies to normalized daily life of the middle class peoples: First, the government should establish a realistic national wage policy for public and private-sector employees. Salaries should be reviewed periodically in line with inflation, living costs, productivity and family expenditure. Minimum wages and sectoral salary structures should protect workers' purchasing power.
Second, the government must strengthen market monitoring and prevent artificial price increases, hoarding, syndication and unfair trading practices. Agricultural supply chains should be modernized to reduce the gap between farm-gate and retail prices.
Third, affordable housing should become a national development priority. Government-supported rental housing, planned residential areas and improved public transportation could significantly reduce the financial burden on urban families.
Fourth, public healthcare must be strengthened through affordable diagnostic services, essential medicines, health insurance and improved hospital facilities. A national health protection program would reduce the risk of families falling into poverty because of medical emergencies.
Fifth, education should become more affordable and accessible. Quality public schools, technical institutions, vocational training and scholarship programs can reduce dependence on expensive private education and coaching.
Sixth, the government should introduce targeted food assistance and nutritional support for vulnerable salaried families, alongside low-income households. School meal programs, affordable food outlets and improved food supply management could help protect nutritional standards.
The real test of Bangladesh's economic success is not how much wealth the country generates, but whether an ordinary working family can live with dignity, educate its children, afford nutritious food, receive proper healthcare and save something for tomorrow.
Md. Al-Amin Chowdhury is Publisher of
The Asian Age and an ICT entrepreneur.
