Dhaka, Jun 14 (IANS): The average life expectancy reached 72.4 years in Bangladesh in 2022, the country's national statistical agency revealed.

The figure is slightly up from 72.3 years in 2021, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) said in its 'Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2022' report, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the report, the life expectancy for men saw a small rise to 70.8 years in 2022 compared to 70.6 years in 2021.

For women, it said the average life expectancy increased to 74.2 years in 2022, up from 74.1 years in 2021.

The country's overall infant mortality rate, however, increased in 2022.

The mortality rate for children under five years of age increased from 28 per 1,000 in 2021 to 31 in 2022.

Additionally, the death rate of children under the age of one also witnessed a rise.

The report said that the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out some of the gains the country achieved in this area over the last decades.