Bangladesh Economy Profile 2009

Economy - overview

The economy has grown 5-6% per year since 1996 despite inefficient state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources, 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, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel economic growth. In 2008 Bangladesh pursued a monetary policy aimed at maintaining high employment, but created higher inflation in the process.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$224 billion (2008 est.)
$213.5 billion (2007 est.)
$201 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$81.94 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.9% (2008 est.)
6.2% (2007 est.)
6.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$1,500 (2008 est.)
$1,400 (2007 est.)
$1,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 19.1%
industry: 28.6%
services: 52.3% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line

45% (2004 est.)

Labor force

70.86 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06. (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 63%
industry: 11%
services: 26% (FY95/96)

Unemployment rate

2.5% (2008 est.)
2.5% (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 26.6% (2005)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

33.2 (2005)
33.6 (1996)

Investment (gross fixed)

24.3% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget

revenues: $8.825 billion
expenditures: $12.54 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt

34.5% of GDP (2008 est.)
43% of GDP (2004 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

8.9% (2008 est.)
9.1% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate

NA% (31 December 2008)
5% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

NA% (31 December 2008)
16% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$NA (31 December 2008)
$8.444 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$NA (31 December 2008)
$32.35 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit

$NA (31 December 2008)
$40.1 billion (31 December 2007)

Industries

cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar

Industrial production growth rate

6.9% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production

22.78 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 93.7%
hydro: 6.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption

21.37 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production

6,746 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption

89,940 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - imports

83,220 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - exports

1,351 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves

28 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production

15.7 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

15.7 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

141.6 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current Account Balance

$628 million (2008 est.)
$856.8 million (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products

rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry

Exports

$13.97 billion (2008 est.)
$12.47 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood

Exports - partners

US 21%, Germany 13.2%, UK 8.6%, France 6.3%, Netherlands 4.7% (2008)

Imports

$19.59 billion (2008 est.)
$16.67 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement

Imports - partners

China 14.7%, India 14.7%, Kuwait 7.5%, Singapore 7.1%, Japan 4.1% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$5.789 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$5.278 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external

$21.52 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$21.23 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$5.971 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$5.261 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$97 million (31 December 2008 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$6.671 billion (31 December 2008)
$6.793 billion (31 December 2007)
$3.61 billion (31 December 2006)

Economic aid - recipient

$1.321 billion (2005)

Currency (code)

BDT

Currency (code)

taka (BDT)

Exchange rates

taka (BDT) per US dollar - 68.554 (2008 est.), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June