Economy - overview:
Bangladesh's economy has grown roughly 6% per year since 2005 despite prolonged periods of political instability, poor infrastructure, endemic corruption, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the services sector, almost half of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product.
Garment exports, the backbone of Bangladesh's industrial sector, accounted for more than 80% of total exports and surpassed $28 billion in FY 2016-17. The sector continues to grow despite the need for improvements in factory safety conditions and workers’ rights to avert further high-profile accidents that killed more than 1,000 workers in 2012 and 2013. In FY 2016-17, steady export growth in the garment sector, combined with $13 billion in remittances from overseas Bangladeshis, contributed to Bangladesh's rising foreign exchange reserves.
The recent influx of over 700,000 additional refugees from Burma will place pressure on the Bangladeshi government’s budget and the country’s rice supplies, which declined in 2017 in part because of record flooding. Recent improvements to energy infrastructure, including the start of liquefied natural gas imports in 2018, represent a major step forward in resolving a key growth bottleneck.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$686.5 billion (2017 est.)
$640.7 billion (2016 est.)
$597.8 billion (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
country comparison to the world: 34
GDP (official exchange rate):
$250 billion (2017 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7.1% (2017 est.)
7.2% (2016 est.)
6.8% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$4,200 (2017 est.)
$4,000 (2016 est.)
$3,700 (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
country comparison to the world: 176
Gross national saving:
29.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
30.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
30.3% of GDP (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
GDP - composition, by end use:
household consumption: 67.5%
government consumption: 6.4%
investment in fixed capital: 30.3%
investment in inventories: 1%
exports of goods and services: 15.5%
imports of goods and services: -20.7% (2017 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 14.2%
industry: 29.2%
services: 56.5% (2017 est.)
Agriculture - products:
rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
Industries:
jute, cotton, garments, paper, leather, fertilizer, iron and steel, cement, petroleum products, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, tea, salt, sugar, edible oils, soap and detergent, fabricated metal products, electricity, natural gas
Industrial production growth rate:
8.2% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
Labor force:
73.41 million
note: extensive migration of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 47%
industry: 13%
services: 40% (2016 est.)
Unemployment rate:
4.1% (2017 est.)
4.1% (2016 est.)
note: about 40% of the population is underemployed; many persons counted as employed work only a few hours a week and at low wages
country comparison to the world: 55
Population below poverty line:
31.5% (2010 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 27% (2010 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
32.1 (2010 est.)
33.6 (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
Budget:
revenues: $27.08 billion
expenditures: $39.31 billion (2017 est.)
Taxes and other revenues:
10.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 211
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-4.9% of GDP (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160
Public debt:
28.1% of GDP (2017 est.)
26.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 168
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.7% (2017 est.)
5.7% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 178
Central bank discount rate:
5% (11 December 2017 est.)
5% (30 October 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
10.2% (31 December 2017 est.)
10.41% (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
Stock of narrow money:
$28.37 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$25.94 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
Stock of broad money:
$132.1 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$121.1 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 53
Stock of domestic credit:
$144.9 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$133.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$50.98 billion (30 September 2017 est.)
$41.73 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$23.55 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 52
Current account balance:
$-1.751 billion (2017 est.)
$1.381 billion (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 152
Exports:
$35.91 billion (2017 est.)
$34.14 billion (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 58
Exports - commodities:
garments, knitwear, agricultural products, frozen food (fish and seafood), jute and jute goods, leather
Exports - partners:
US 16.4%, Germany 15.3%, UK 10.9%, France 6.1%, Spain 5% (2016)
Imports:
$42.38 billion (2017 est.)
$40.37 billion (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
Imports - commodities:
cotton, machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
China 26.3%, India 14.8%, Singapore 5.2%, Japan 4.5% (2016)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$33.66 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$32.28 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 48
Debt - external:
$45.07 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$41.85 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$14.62 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$13.24 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$389.5 million (31 December 2017 est.)
$228.5 million (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 96
Exchange rates:
taka (BDT) per US dollar -
80.69 (2017 est.)
78.47 (2016 est.)
78.47 (2015 est.)
77.95 (2014 est.)
77.61 (2013 est.)