It’s a place I have always considered to be one of the worst places on earth. Lots of people, almost no resources, and a horrible location.
Bangladesh. It has around half the population of the US and is only about the size of Iowa. 75% of it is below sea level and is regularly hit but massive monsoons that flood and wreck everything.
But in the last 30 years, life expectancy is up 180%, poverty has gone from 80% to 19%, 92% decrease in infant mortality, 100 fold reduction in people dying in monsoons.
In 30 years, GDP per capita went from 50% of Pakistan (from whom it gained independence) to 50% higher than Pakistan. In 2019, it also passed India, which is much more recognized as a fast growing, up and coming economy.
At independence, they lost 3 million people to war, including nearly all of most educated. 6 months after independence they lost 500,000 more to a massive monsoon. Life expectancy was only 26.
They have had weak governments and authoritarian governments. Democracy and dictatorship. Several military coups. One president had 21 assassination or coup attempts.
But through it all, they kept trying to work themselves into being able to build some sort of export economy. Textiles and garments are what they do mainly.
It’s a complicated story for a lot of reasons, but if anyone is curious, check out a YouTube series called Casual Scholar. If you like knowing about the world, you’ll most likely like the channel. I have only recently discovered it myself. It is over 30 minutes long, but it also easy to listen to without watching, just an fyi.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MIpdbDKMF1...BlY29ub215
I hope someone enjoys actually hearing a nice story about a desperately poor place, and some good change actually happening for people who need it.
It still has many, many problems and is far from being wealthy, but the last 30 years been called the greatest increase of quality of life indicators in history.