84.81% citizens feel safe walking alone in their neighborhood after dark: BBS

More than four-fifths of citizens in Bangladesh feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, according to the Citizen Perception Survey (CPS) 2025 conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

The findings were revealed at the publication ceremony of the CPS 2025 Final Report held at the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) auditorium in the city today (24 December).

Aleya Akter, secretary of the Ministry of Planning's Statistics and Informatics Division, was present as the chief guest. Planning Division Secretary SM Shakil Akhter and Statistics and Informatics Division Additional Secretary  Mohammad Masud Rana Chowdhury attended the event as special guests. 

The programme was chaired by Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Director General (Additional Secretary) of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Project Director of CPS Rashed-E-Mastahab made a presentation on the findings of the survey.

The BBS conducted the Citizen Perception Survey (CPS) across the country from February 6 to 23, 2025. Data were collected through interviews with a total of 84,807 respondents aged 18 years and above (male: 39,894; female: 44,913) from 45,888 households selected from 1,920 Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) across all 64 districts.

The survey found that 84.81% of citizens feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark. Women's sense of safety (80.67%) was lower than that of men (89.53%). The level of perceived safety inside one's own home after dark was comparatively higher with 92.54%.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Aleya Akter said this survey would pave the way for further thinking in the government process.

Planning Secretary SM Shakil Akhter said although this was a perception survey, but it was carried out in such a way that the findings were accurate.

In terms of governance, the survey showed that only 27.24% of citizens believe that they can influence government decision-making. This perception further declines to 21.99% in the context of political influence. 

Nationally, nearly one-quarter of the population (24.62%) believe that decision-making in the political system is inclusive and responsive, with little difference between rural (24.47%) and urban (24.91%) areas.

Regarding public service delivery over the past 12 months, 47.12% of the population received government health services. About 40.93% reported that at least one of their children attended a government primary or secondary school, while 73.77% attempted to access other government services such as identity or civil registration services. 

Satisfaction levels among service users were reported at 72.69% for health services, 81.56% for primary education, 78.18% for secondary education, and 66.91% for other government services.

Nationally, about 16.16% of citizens experienced a dispute or conflict during the last two years. Among them, 83.60% were able to access either formal mechanisms (such as courts) or informal mechanisms (such as community leaders) for dispute resolution. Of these, 41.34% accessed formal institutions, while 68.96% accessed informal mechanisms.
The findings highlight the urgent need to strengthen security, improve transparency in public administration, enhance service quality, intensify anti-corruption efforts, and adopt inclusive policies to achieve SDG 16 in Bangladesh.

Based on citizens' perceptions and experiences, the survey assessed progress on six indicators under SDG 16, covering security, good governance, quality of public services, corruption, access to justice, and discrimination. 

The questionnaire for the survey was developed in line with internationally prescribed standards and methodologies set by the United Nations. To ensure data reliability, comparability, and policy relevance, technical guidelines of the SDG 16 Survey Initiative jointly developed by UNDP, UNODC, and OHCHR were followed. Data collection was carried out using the Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) method, ensuring real-time monitoring and quality control.

At the national level, the average household size among sampled households was 4.00 persons, of which 81.97% were male-headed households and 18.03% were female-headed households.