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 $11 billion in FY10, 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
7% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 57
Labor Force
73.86 millioncountry comparison to the world: 8 note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances were $10.9 billion in FY09/10 (2010 est.)
Electricity production
25.62 billion kWh (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 65
Electricity Consumption
23.94 billion kWh (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 65
Electricity Exports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity Imports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Unemployment Rate
5.1% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 46 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
40% (2010 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: NA
Highest 10%: 26.6% (2008 est.)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
33.2 (2005)country comparison to the world: 100 33.6 (1996)
Budget
Revenues: $11.41 billion
Expenditures: $15.87 billion (2010 est.)
Public Debt
35.4% of GDP (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 79 35.4% of GDP (2009 est.)
Central Bank Discount Rate
5% (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 74 5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$14.12 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 68 $10.88 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Broad Money
$56.44 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 65 $47.38 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$64.71 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 60 $53.59 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$47 billion (31 December 2010)country comparison to the world: 74 $7.068 billion (31 December 2009)$6.671 billion (31 December 2008)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$11.18 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 69 $10.34 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt External
$24.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 71 $23.82 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
$6.107 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 85 $5.139 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
$91.2 million (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 81 $91 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange Rates
taka (BDT) per US dollar -70.59 (2010)69.04 (2009)68.554 (2008)69.893 (2007)69.031 (2006)
