Life expectancy at birth increased to 72 years last year in Bangladesh from 71.6 years in 2016, according to a survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

For women, life expectancy increased to 73.5 years in 2017 from 72.9 years in 2016, says the survey titled Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2017.

However, in comparison to women, the life expectancy of men increased a little between 2017 and 2016. In 2017, men's life expectancy was 70.6 years whereas it was 70.3 years in 2016.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal inaugurated the publication of the report at the BBS building at Agargaon in Dhaka.

He said if the country continues to make progress at the current pace then it will emerge as a developed country in 2041.