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)