The percentages of households and people getting support from the government's Social Security Programmes (SSP) in Barishal are the highest among the country's eight divisions, according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2022. 

The support is being provided to 53.1 per cent of the division's households and 75.2 per cent of people living there.

Khulna division accounts for the second highest -- 48.6 per cent of households and 68.1 per cent of people.

Some 45.1 per cent of households and 63.3 per cent of people avail the support in Rangpur division, followed by 47 per cent and 62.5 per cent in Rajshahi division and 45.9 per cent and 62.2 per cent in Sylhet division respectively.

It is 32.7 per cent and 41.1 per cent in Chattogram division and 43.6 per cent and 59.1 per cent in Mymensingh division respectively.

The lowest percentages are in Dhaka division -- 23.9 per cent of households and 29.7 per cent of people.

According to the HIES 2022, 18.7 per cent of people are poor and 5.6 per cent of people are extremely poor.

Most of the extremely poor suffer from chronic poverty and live on charity or below the subsistence level. The government runs the SSP to support such families with cash or provisions to overcome hunger.

The SSP module was first introduced in the HIES 2005, when there were 11 programmes. Later, the number of programmes were increased to 66.

The HIES 2022 reveals that 37.6 per cent of households received the SSP support during the last 12 months. In contrast, 27.8 per cent of households received it in 2016.

In rural areas, 44 per cent of households received the support in the past one year whereas it was 34.5 per cent in 2016.

In urban areas, it was 23.9 per cent in 2022 compared to 10.6 per cent in 2016.