7.3. Food security

In 2022, Bangladeshi households spent an average of 46 % of their income on food according to a BBS survey663. In 2024, the cost of living, including food, reached its highest point in a decade,664 and some parts of the population were experiencing food insecurity. In February–March 2024, around 14.6 million, 20 % of the analysed population, experienced high levels of acute food insecurity, being level three (crisis) or above on the International Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) five-tier scale. This included about 328 000 persons experiencing food insecurity at level four (emergency).665 Meanwhile, WFP reported on more than 23.6 million people, more than 26 % of the population, facing food insecurity as of March 2025.666 A study of BIDS and WFP, as reported by local media, further found that food insecurity was increasing in 2022–2024, amid rising poverty levels.667