Bangladesh at 50 years is a changed Bangladesh. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation, called Bangladesh the Golden Bengal and the people of this country with immense potential. He has showed us the dream of a golden Bengal, which will be a state free from hunger and poverty, a prosperous state that will stand with pride on the globe.
From 1971 to 2021, Bangladesh is progressing at a accelerated pace, surprising the whole world. The one-time bottomless basket is now seen by everyone as a role model for development. Even the Corona pandemic has set a unique example for the way Bangladesh has bravely handled the situation. Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is a shining example of demonstrating far-reaching strong leadership and unstoppable will. She has been working tirelessly to change the destiny of our people. In recent years, Bangladesh has achieved significant social and economic success.
Based on our growing productivity, we have achieved an average growth rate of 7.8% over the last decade. Not only that, Bangladesh has also set a shining example of progress in a number of human development indicators, including adult literacy, life expectancy and gender.
Appreciation to Hon'ble Prime Minister. Under your strong leadership, our country is on a high growth trajectory today, tackling extreme poverty, improving our livelihood, we have got a digital Bangladesh and above all our country has emerged from the least developed country segment to the middle income country. It is a moment of extraordinary pride as a Bengali.
The progress of this development did not come suddenly, there are various long-term plans behind it. From the very beginning, the Government of Bangladesh has taken Vision 2021, Bangladesh Perspective Plan 2010-2021 and Sixth and Seventh Five Year Plans. As a result, we are seeing today a decade-long GDP growth of 7.8%.
While the world has been plagued by Corona outbreaks, we are dealing with our limited resources with visibly great success. Under the leadership of our government, we have all tried to cooperate from our respective fields. During the Corona period, food was provided to the poor in a country of 160 million people, and efforts were made to provide security for the unemployed. So far, our vaccination program has been very efficient and well-received. The Hon'ble Prime Minister has not only provided vaccinations for us but has also inspired everyone to handle the situation with necessary protection.
I believe an unprecedented time awaits us. The development that Bangladesh has set for itself in the next two decades is also far-sighted and courageous. Progressive Development will take place in agriculture, industry and commerce, education and health, transportation and communication systems, and operations and business management. To carry this we have a new direction which is the vision of the government of Bangladesh 2041. If this is implemented, the face of our country will change radically and we will be known as a developed country. Over the next two decades, our GDP growth rate will continue to rise and we will be able to get rid of extreme poverty forever.
But the goal we are moving forward with is a much bigger and courageous goal. It may seem very ambitious at first glance but it is true that our goal of becoming a developing country at one time had also seemed very ambitious; But which we have already achieved. So I believe it is not impossible. There are many challenges, many risks in the way of achieving the goals of our perspective plan. There will be many obstacles in this long journey that we have to face. This will require strong economic and political foresight and well-thought-out strong action. And to that end, under the leadership of the government, we must all come forward together - the private sector and development partners.
Creating employment for our young society is a vital task to continue our economic progress and maintain this continuity of growth. A major part of our population is young, about 2.8 million young people are looking for employment every year and this number is increasing each year. To the naked eye it may seem like a problem, but I see it as a possibility, our population dividend stands a sea of opportunities in front of us. To convert this working population into active human resources who can be the biggest contributors to take the economy beyond achievements of GDP target level. But we also need to keep in mind that this opportunity is limited. As the overall age of our young population increases over the next 20 years, we will be deprived of those benefits if we do not take advantage of this opportunity in time.
For this we need to design not just one program but multiple connected programs which will be managed with the joint efforts of all of us. Everyone here must come forward for our next generation. All our efforts may not be successful, but in any difficult endeavor we either win or we learn. In this journey we hope that at some point we will be able to achieve something that will become a model not only for our youth but for the whole world. Millions of young people today are waiting for employment. They will be the next Bangladesh. They will be the economic driving force of the future.