Economy Overview
The economy has grown 5-6% per year since 1996 despite political instability, poor infrastructure, corruption, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, 45% of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Bangladesh's growth was resilient during the 2008-09 global financial crisis and recession. Garment exports, totaling $12.3 billion in FY09 and remittances from overseas Bangladeshis totaling $9.7 billion in FY09 accounted for almost 25% of GDP.
Agriculture Products
rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
Industries
cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar
Industrial Production Growth Rate
6.4% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 50
Labor Force
73.87 millioncountry comparison to the world: 8 note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $10.9 billion in 2009-10 (2010 est.)
Electricity production
25.62 billion kWh (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 66
Electricity Consumption
23.94 billion kWh (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 65
Electricity Exports
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity Imports
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Unemployment Rate
5.1% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 47 5.1% (2009 est.) note: about 40% of the population is underemployed; many participants in the labor force work only a few hours a week, at low wages
Population Below Poverty Line
36.3% (2008 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 8.8%
Highest 10%: 26.6% (2008 est.)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
33.2 (2005)country comparison to the world: 94 33.6 (1996)
Public Debt
39.3% of GDP (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 74 39.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
Central Bank Discount Rate
5% (31 October 2010)country comparison to the world: 86 5% (31 December 2008)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$13.98 billion (31 December 2010 est)country comparison to the world: 67 $10.92 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of Broad Money
$57.21 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 64 $63.03 billion (31 December 2009)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$62.2 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 60 $53.77 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$7.068 billion (31 December 2009)country comparison to the world: 74 $6.671 billion (31 December 2008)$6.793 billion (31 December 2007)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$10.79 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 53 $10.34 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt External
$24.46 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 69 $24.22 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
$6.72 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 83 $5.617 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
$82 million (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 80 $81 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange Rates
taka (BDT) per US dollar - 70.59 (2010), 69.039 (2009), 68.554 (2008), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006)
