ECONOMY OF BANGLADESH
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.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$258.6 billion (2010 est.)
$243.9 billion (2009 est.)
$230.6 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$104.9 billion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
6% (2010 est.)
5.8% (2009 est.)
6% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$1,700 (2010 est.)
$1,600 (2009 est.)
$1,500 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 18.6%
industry: 28.5%
services: 53% (2010 est.)
Population below poverty line
40% (2010 est.)
Labor force
73.86 million
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.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture: 45%
industry: 30%
services: 25% (2008)
Unemployment rate
5.1% (2010 est.)
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
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 9.3%
male: 8%
female: 13.6% (2006)
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)
33.6 (1996)
Investment (gross fixed)
23.8% of GDP (2010 est.)
Budget
revenues: $11.41 billion
expenditures: $15.87 billion (2010 est.)
Taxes and other revenues
10.9% of GDP (2010 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)
-4.2% of GDP (2010 est.)
Public debt
35.4% of GDP (2010 est.)
35.4% of GDP (2009 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
8.1% (2010 est.)
5.4% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate
5% (31 December 2010 est.)
5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate
13% (31 December 2010 est.)
14.6% (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of narrow money
$14.12 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$10.88 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of money
$10.35 billion (30 September 2009)
$8.444 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money
$45.23 billion (30 September 2009)
$37.98 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of broad money
$56.44 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$47.38 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of domestic credit
$64.71 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$53.59 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares
$47 billion (31 December 2010)
$7.068 billion (31 December 2009)
$6.671 billion (31 December 2008)
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.)
Electricity - production
25.62 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 93.7%
hydro: 6.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
23.94 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Oil - production
5,724 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - consumption
98,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - exports
2,770 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - imports
77,340 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - proved reserves
28 million bbl (1 January 2011 est.)
Natural gas - production
19.75 billion cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
20.1 billion cu m (2010 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
195.4 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
Current Account Balance
$3.734 billion (2010 est.)
$3.556 billion (2009 est.)
Exports
$19.24 billion (2010 est.)
$15.07 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities
garments, frozen fish and seafood, jute and jute goods, leather
Exports - partners
US 22.1%, Germany 14.1%, UK 8.5%, France 6.8%, Netherlands 6.1% (2010)
Imports
$24.72 billion (2010 est.)
$19.68 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement
Imports - partners
China 18.9%, India 12.7%, Singapore 6%, Malaysia 4.7%, Japan 4% (2010)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$11.18 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$10.34 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external
$24.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$23.82 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home
$6.107 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$5.139 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad
$91.2 million (31 December 2010 est.)
$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)