Accurate, reliable data must be ensured for effective planning

The picture of development in the different sectors of the country comes from surveyed statistics on how much each sector is improving or declining. All sectors do not grow or decline together. So the concerned government authorities must keep checking on the sectors regularly. This gives correct information on how much each sector is growing. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) usually has the duty to prepare the record of the overall economic rise and fall of the country. It presents statistics on what growth and decline each sector is facing.

But it seems the agency is not doing its duty properly. In many cases it presents misleading or wrong information that is far from the real picture. The most terrible thing is that it is using data and statistics on the economy that are many years old. A report in the English daily New Age yesterday said BBS is still using statistics from nearly two decades ago. It passed off the statistics of the 2001 to 2003 economic census as figures for the current 2026 fiscal year. At that time the value of this sector was Tk 15,094 crore, which was 0.25 percent of GDP. But in the current fiscal year it stands at 5.19 percent of GDP.

These figures suggest that the sector has seen no improvement and is stuck in 2001 to 2003. In other words, the economic picture is being shown with old data and statistics. This is a terrible picture. Real statistics on the rise and fall of the economy help the government carry out its work and steps correctly. Accurate and correct statistics are a must for making every plan. Decisions based on wrong information bring disaster. For example, if the statistics of a sector that needs development are shown higher than the real picture, development in that sector will naturally fall.

The government will then focus more on other sectors and leave this one to grow on its own. Again, if the statistics are shown lower than the real picture, other sectors will slow down as the government puts its stress there. So statistics play a key role in the government’s development decisions. The past autocratic Awami League government blew up a balloon of development by showing inflated figures everywhere, from the GDP rate to per capita income. To show this development, it even cut down the total population in the census. In the last census of 2022, everyone guessed, and agencies around the world counted, that the population was more than 18 crore.

But the census showed a little over 16 crore 51 lakh. There was a lot of criticism of this at that time. Economists say the government took shelter in this lie to inflate development, including GDP and per capita income, by showing a smaller population. It goes without saying that this bad culture of false statistics and wrong information still remains. Who is linked with the agencies that present this information to the nation has now become a big question. Everyone knows the present government began its journey with a very weak economy it inherited. To rebuild this economy, correct information and statistics on the state of every sector are the most urgent need.

The government must base its development plans on them. If misleading information is given there, the work of rebuilding the economy will slow down. If the government makes statements based on false statistics, it will fall into a “false position” before the public. It will lose public trust and image and become a target of mockery. This is just how the development story of the fallen autocratic Awami League government became a joke among the people. There is no alternative to putting the correct statistics on the economy and all other areas before the government and the public. Information and statistics must be kept up to date.

It seems the overall information and statistics of the country have moved ahead, but we are lagging behind them. In today’s age of technology, especially through Artificial Intelligence (AI), we get any information in a moment. In this matter, AI will present whatever the authority in charge of data and statistics puts forward. This is because AI cannot create information or statistics by itself in these areas. It collects the data presented by the concerned authority through different channels and presents it. Or it presents only what it is given. By the 2026 estimate, the population of Bangladesh is about 17 crore 78 lakh.

But many say the population will be no less than 20 crore. This is because many people have no registration. Countless floating people, starting from street children, remain outside birth registration. The government count has no information on them. So the data and statistics may differ slightly. That does not mean they will stay far from the real picture. The use of economic data and statistics from two decades ago has proved this. Those who present this wrong information have surely neglected their duty, or they do it to put the government in trouble.

They have a bad plan to lead the economic work and steps of the government the wrong way. The government should take strict action against those involved. The government has already started forensic audits in different sectors. If this work is done properly, correct information will be found. But if those involved in the work do not present correct information, confusion or mistakes will remain. So strict instructions are a must to see that this work is done properly. The public must be given correct and accurate information.