Bangladesh has a unique model of development that stands out from the traditional unidirectional developmental pattern. Domestic microfinance institutions and international development organizations play a significant role in designing, financing, and scaling development strategies that meet local requirements and solutions. Due to the significant presence of non-government organizations, both small and large-scale, Bangladesh has made strides in improving access to vital services, increasing women's involvement in public and private spheres, boosting children's health and education, and elevating the average life expectancy. As a result, the country has made progress towards various sustainable development objectives. Over the years, Bangladesh's overall SDG score has improved from 59.37 in 2016 to 64.22 in 2022, placing it at 104th out of 163 nations. However, the nation's performance in the East and South Asia region is relatively poor, ranked 14th out of 19 countries in the region, behind Pakistan, India, Laos, Mongolia, and Cambodia, according to the UNDP's 2021 report (UNDP, 2021). Despite Bangladesh's impressive economic growth, there are underlying structural weaknesses that are starting to surface. The country's income inequality has remained relatively stagnant, which could be seen as a positive because it hasn't worsened. However, the lack of a rising trend in wealth inequality is concerning. This could be due to income being diverted into consumption rather than savings, which could lead to a lack of investment and capital formation in the economy. The government has acknowledged the issue of growing income inequality in its 8th Five-Year Plan (GED, 2020). Bangladesh has experienced an unusual stagnation in both income and wealth inequality over the last few decades. Despite this, unequal income distribution has hindered economic progress in the country, which has grown amid worsening income inequality in recent years. The widely used Gini Index for measuring income inequality has increased considerably in recent decades. However, according to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the WID (BBS, 2022; WID, 2023), the country's inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient reached 0.57 in 2022, up from 0.46 in 2010, on a scale of 0 to 1. According to national statistics, there has been a change in the income and wealth distribution in Bangladesh from 1995 to 2021. The bottom 50 percent of the adult population saw a slight increase in their pre-tax national income share from 16.25 percent to 17.08 percent, while the top 10 percent of the adult population experienced a decrease from 44.88 percent to 42.40 percent. Similarly, the bottom 50 percent of the adult population saw a marginal increase in their total net personal wealth share from 4.69 percent to 4.77 percent, while the top 10 percent of the adult population experienced a decrease from 59.2 percent to 58.7 percent (BBS, 2022). Bangladesh's Human Development Index (HDI) has been steadily increasing despite the income and wealth distribution disparities. The country's HDI has been driven by enhancements in various indicators, including per capita Gross National Income (GNI), life expectancy, expected years of schooling, and mean years of schooling. In the 2020 HDI report by SDR, Bangladesh was ranked 133rd among 189 countries, with a score of 0.655 out of 1. However, in the recently published 2022 HDI report by UNDP, Bangladesh's rank improved to 129th out of 191 countries, with a score of 0.661. Bangladesh is ranked ahead of several South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Afghanistan
