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Economy—overview
Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and
demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely
populated, and least developed nations. The economy is largely agricultural, with the
cultivation of rice the single most important activity in the economy. Major impediments
to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, the inefficiency of state-owned
enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays
in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), inadequate power supplies, and slow
implementation of economic reforms. Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government has made some headway improving the
climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets; for example, it has
negotiated with foreign firms for oil and gas exploration, better countrywide distribution
of cooking gas, and the construction of natural gas pipelines and power plants. Progress
on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy,
public sector unions, and other vested interest groups.
Severe floods, lasting from July to October 1998,endangered
the livelihoods of more than 20 million people. Foodgrain production fell by 4 million
tons, forcing Dhaka to triple its normal foodgrain imports and placing severe pressure on
Bangladesh's balance of payments. The floods increased the country's reliance on
large-scale international aid. So far the East Asian financial crisis has not had major
impact on the economy.
GDP
Purchasing power parity—$175.5 billion (1998 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
4% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita
Purchasing power parity—$1,380 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector
Agriculture: 30%
Industry: 17%
Services: 53% (1997)
Population below poverty line
35.6% (1995-96 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Lowest 10%: 4.1%
Highest 10%: 23.7% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
7% (1998)
Labor force
56 million
Note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, and Oman (1996)
Labor force—by occupation
Agriculture 65%, services 25%, industry and mining 10% (1996)
Unemployment rate
35.2% (1996)
Budget
Revenues: $3.8 billion
Expenditures: $5.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)
Industries
Jute manufacturing, cotton textiles, food processing, steel, fertilizer
Industrial production growth rate
3.6% (1997)
Electricity - production
11.5 billion kWh (1997)
Electricity - production by source
Fossil fuel: 97.35%
Hydro: 2.65%
Nuclear: 0%
Other: 0% (1996)
Electricity - consumption
11.3 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (1996)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture - products
Rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes; beef, milk, poultry
Exports
$4.4 billion (1997)
Exports - commodities
Garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
Exports - partners
Western Europe 42%, US 30%, Hong Kong 4%, Japan 3% (FY95/96 est.)
Imports
$7.1 billion (1997)
Imports commodities
Capital goods, textiles, food, petroleum products
Imports - partners
India 21%, China 10%, Western Europe 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 6% (FY95/96 est.)
Debt - external
$16.7 billion (1997)
Economic aid—recipient
$1.475 billion (FY96/97)
Currency
1 taka (Tk) = 100 poisha
Exchange rates
Taka (Tk) per US$1—48.500 (January 1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794
(1996), 40.278 (1995), 40.212 (1994)
Fiscal year
1 July—30 June
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