Only 29% users satisfied with BBS data quality: Survey

Only 29.39% of users are satisfied with the quality of official statistics provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), according to a survey conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

The "User Satisfaction Survey 2024", based on responses from 1,333 individuals, further indicates that 55.59% of users are somewhat satisfied, while 11.64% are somewhat unsatisfied, and 3.39% are completely unsatisfied.

The survey also highlighted user satisfaction with specific aspects of BBS data.

About 64.34% of users expressed satisfaction with the accuracy of the statistics, while 25.58% were dissatisfied.

Regarding the timeliness of the data, 54.36% of users were satisfied, whereas 38.56% expressed dissatisfaction.

In terms of relevance, 77.06% were satisfied, with 16.81% voicing dissatisfaction.

However, only 47.88% were satisfied with the frequency of the statistics, and 42.88% expressed dissatisfaction.

The findings of the USS 2024 show an improvement in user satisfaction compared to the USS 2022, particularly in the areas of data accuracy, timeliness, and relevance, though there were some exceptions. 

In terms of the type of statistics frequently used, the survey revealed that population, demographic, and vital statistics are the most commonly accessed, with 68.57% of respondents using these data.

Income and poverty statistics (60.77%) and national accounts statistics (54.91%) were also frequently utilised.

In contrast, information and communication technology (ICT) statistics (17.18%) and crime and judicial statistics (7.88%) were the least used.

Users with higher academic backgrounds or PhD degrees showed similar patterns of data usage.

Additionally, the percentage of users increased compared to the USS 2022, except for those using population, demographic, and vital statistics.

Approximately 40.98% of respondents indicated they use BBS data with no set frequency, compared to 46.57% in 2022.

Among the different statistical domains, education statistics were the most utilised, with 73.21% of users engaging with this data.

Population, demographic, and vital statistics followed closely at 72.10%, and income and poverty statistics at 68.52%.

Decision-making (24.49%) was the second most common reason for using BBS data while planning (21.95%) and modelling/forecasting (19.73%) were also frequently cited.

The most useful domains, as identified by users, include health and nutrition (28.36%), national accounts (26.78%), crime and judicial statistics (26.67%), income and poverty (26.17%), and ICT use (25.76%).

Compared to the USS 2022, the usefulness of data has increased in most domains, except for foreign trade, population, demographics and vital statistics, and crime and judicial statistics.

In terms of data collection methods, 11.78% of users rated the methodology as very good, and 66% rated it as good. Around 75.55% found BBS products, including data and publication reports, moderate or very easy to extract information from. 

When it came to data accessibility, 69.42% of users found access to BBS data easy or very easy.

However, 28.51% reported that access was somewhat difficult, and 2.02% found it difficult.

Education statistics were the easiest to access, with 75.44% of users reporting easy or very easy accessibility, followed by population, demographic, and vital statistics (74.73%) and gender statistics (73.11%).

On the other hand, crime and judicial, labour, and foreign trade statistics were the most challenging domains to access. The survey results indicate that while there is overall satisfaction with BBS data, some areas require improvement.