When people think of Bangladesh, they often think of poverty. It was one of the world’s poorest nations when it was created in 1971. And they probably think of political upheaval — this year massive protests led to the resignation of the prime minister. An interim government led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is now in place.

But Bangladesh defies the stereotypes. It has quickly moved up to lower middle-income status (average income is approximately $2,500) and is on track to be unlisted from the U.N. list of least developed nations by 2030.

Along with this rise from poverty, Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in improving its health care. Two statistics illustrate the extent of the progress.  

Life expectancy was approximately 58 years in 1990. By 2019, it had risen to 74 years. Those figures are from a series of studies published in The Lancet. And death from all causes saw a steep decline: from 1,500 deaths per 100,000 population in 1990 to 715 deaths in 2019.