Life expectancy of Bangladeshis dropped in 2021

Staff Correspondent: After a decade, the average life expectancy of people in Bangladesh has fallen for the first time, according to data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics yesterday.
In 2021, the average life expectancy stood at 72.3 years, down half a year, or six months, from 72.8 years in 2020.
BBS Director Alamgir Hossain said the agency believed the spike in deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the drop in life expectancy.
The first case of the novel coronavirus was detected in Bangladesh on Mar 8, 2020. Since then, 29,446 people have died, according to the official count as of Sunday. Most of these deaths took place in 2020 and 2021.
The average life expectancy for women is still higher than men, according to the new statistics. The life expectancy of men also dropped further.
In 2021, men lived an average of 70.6 years, while women lived 74.1 years. In 2020, men were living an average of 71.2 years, while women lived 74.5 years.
In 2009, when the Awami League came to power, the average life expectancy was 67.2 years.