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.; Garments, the backbone of Bangladesh's industrial sector, accounted for more than 80% of total exports in FY 2016-17. The industrial sector continues to grow, despite the need for improvements in factory safety conditions. Steady export growth in the garment sector, combined with $13 billion in remittances from overseas Bangladeshis, contributed to Bangladesh's rising foreign exchange reserves in FY 2016-17.; 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.;
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
10.2% (2017 est.); country comparison to the world: 15;
Labor Force
66.64 million (2017 est.); note: extensive migration of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; country comparison to the world: 7;
Unemployment Rate
4.4% (2017 est.); 4.4% (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: 58;
Population Below Poverty Line
24.3% (2016 est.);
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 27% (2010 est.)
Highest 10%: 27% (2010 est.)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
32.1 (2010); 33.2 (2005); country comparison to the world: 118;
Budget
Revenues: 25.1 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 33.5 billion (2017 est.)
Public Debt
33.1% of GDP (2017 est.); 33.3% of GDP (2016 est.); country comparison to the world: 159;
Central Bank Discount Rate
5% (11 December 2017); 5% (30 October 2015); country comparison to the world: 80;
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$28.68 billion (31 December 2017 est.); $25.98 billion (31 December 2016 est.); country comparison to the world: 64;
Stock of Broad Money
$28.68 billion (31 December 2017 est.); $25.98 billion (31 December 2016 est.); country comparison to the world: 64;
Stock of Domestic Credit
$152.1 billion (31 December 2017 est.); $135.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.); country comparison to the world: 49;
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$92.33 billion (30 September 2017 est.); $77.99 billion (31 December 2016 est.); $71.73 billion (31 December 2015 est.); country comparison to the world: 41;
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$33.42 billion (31 December 2017 est.); $32.28 billion (31 December 2016 est.); country comparison to the world: 49;
Debt External
$50.26 billion (31 December 2017 est.); $41.85 billion (31 December 2016 est.); country comparison to the world: 66;
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
$369.6 million (31 December 2017 est.); $228.5 million (31 December 2016 est.); country comparison to the world: 100;
Exchange Rates
taka (BDT) per US dollar -; 80.69 (2017 est.); 78.468 (2016 est.); 78.468 (2015 est.); 77.947 (2014 est.); 77.614 (2013 est.);
