Bangladesh

Bangladesh Economy

Bangladesh's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 431 billion in 2023.

GDP per capita of USD 2,528 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 6.4% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 55% of overall GDP, manufacturing 21%, other industrial activity 12%, and agriculture 12%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 69% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 6%, fixed investment 31%, and net exports -6%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2015, manufactured products made up 96% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 1%, food 3%, ores and metals 0% and agricultural raw materials 1%, with other categories accounting for -1% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 63% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 11%, food 17%, ores and metals 3% and agricultural raw materials 6%, with other goods accounting for 0% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 51 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 80 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 6.4% in the decade to 2023. To read more about GDP growth in Bangladesh, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Bangladesh's fiscal deficit averaged 3.7% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 4.5% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Bangladesh's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 6.2% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Bangladesh inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Bangladesh's monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 4.00%, down from 5.00% a decade earlier. See our Bangladesh monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the taka weakened by 22.3% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the taka, click here.
GDP growth was one of Asia’s speediest in FY 2023 (July 2022–June 2023), but it appeared to slow in the first six months of FY 2024. Inflation averaged close to double digits, likely hurting private consumption. In addition, annual goods exports expanded just 0.8% (FY 2023: +6.7% yoy), with the garment sector—which makes up over 80% of exports—hit by lower spending abroad, as well as strikes. That said, remittances grew 2.9% year on year, roughly as much as in FY 2023, offering some support to private consumption. In other news, as expected, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party won its fourth consecutive election on 7 January. However, the poll was boycotted by the main opposition party and criticized by the U.S. as neither “free nor fair”; a deterioration in relations with the U.S. could lead to trade sanctions and imperil Bangladesh’s USD 4.7 billion IMF bailout.
Projections out to 2033.

40 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 12 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Bangladesh in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 40 economic indicators for Bangladesh from a panel of 12 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Bangladesh economy. To download a sample report on the Bangladesh's economy, click here . To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page .

Bangladesh Economic Data

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Population (million) 161 163 165 167 169
GDP (USD bn) 319 351 374 416 460
GDP per capita (USD) 1,977 2,153 2,269 2,499 2,729
GDP (BDT bn) 26,392 29,514 31,705 35,302 39,717
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 13.5 11.8 7.4 11.3 12.5
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 7.3 7.9 3.4 6.9 7.1
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 9.4 4.9 3.0 8.0 7.5
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 5.3 13.4 2.0 6.9 6.2
Total Investment (ann. var. %) 12.1 6.9 3.9 8.1 11.7
Industry (ann. var. %) 10.2 11.6 3.6 10.3 9.9
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 4.4 4.4 5.3 5.2 4.3
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -4.1 -5.4 -4.8 -3.6 -4.1
Public Debt (% of GDP) 29.6 32.0 34.5 35.6 37.9
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 9.2 9.9 12.6 13.6 9.4
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, eop) 5.4 5.7 5.3 6.1 8.7
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.5 7.7
Exchange Rate (BDT per USD, eop) 83.90 84.90 84.75 85.80 102.67
Exchange Rate (BDT per USD, aop) 83.60 84.48 84.90 85.07 93.40
Current Account Balance (USD bn) -9.6 -4.5 -5.4 -4.6 -18.6
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -3.0 -1.3 -1.5 -1.1 -4.1
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) -16.0 -15.6 -16.4 -32.5 -28.9
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 38.6 39.0 32.4 42.0 51.0
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 54.6 54.6 48.8 74.5 79.9
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) 11.0 1.1 -17.0 29.5 21.6
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) 16.0 0.1 -10.6 52.5 7.3
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 3.6 2.9 2.6 2.9 3.5
International Reserves (USD bn) 32.0 32.7 43.2 46.2 33.7
International Reserves (months of imports) 7.0 7.2 10.6 7.4 5.1
External Debt (USD bn) 57.1 62.5 73.6 91.5 97.0
External Debt (% of GDP) 17.9 17.8 19.7 22.0 21.1

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