World Bank Says Air Pollution Costs Bangladesh Up to 4.4% of GDP

Bangladesh’s economic losses from ambient air pollution are estimated to be as much as 4.4% of the country’s gross domestic product, the World Bank said.

Air pollution was estimated to have caused between 78,145 and 88,229 deaths, and between 1 billion and 1.1 billion days lived with illness in Bangladesh in 2019, according to the report published Sunday. It assessed the short-term impact on physical and mental health due to exposure to outdoor air pollution using data from 12,250 individuals in Dhaka and Sylhet.