Economics A Level Country Profile: Bangladesh

Absolute poverty

5% (2022)

Recent strategies

Aim to diversify export mix from the RMG industry

Population

over 170 million

Life expectancy

73.7 years

Infant mortality rate

24 per 1,000 live births (2023)

Fertility rate

1.95 births per woman (2022)

Health spending

2.36% of GDP (2021)

HDI

0.670 in 2022, medium

Expected years of schooling

11.9 years

Mean years of schooling

7.4 years

Annual GDP growth

5.00% (2024)

GNI per capita, PPP

$9,510 (2023)

Inflation

9-9.5% (early 2025)

Unemployment rate

4.45% (2023)

Current account balance

-1.6% of GDP (2023)

Fiscal balance

-5.1% of GDP (2023)

Government debt

around 40% of GDP (2023), upward trend

Investment spending

14% of GDP (2020)

Gross national savings

around 30% of GDP (2024)

Corporate tax rate

25%

External debt

20.3% of GNI (2022)

FDI

0.36% of GDP (2022)

Gini index

33.4 (2022)

Major exports

clothing (Ready-Made Garments) consists 80%, hoisery, frozen food manufacturing

Imports

crude oil and refined petroleum, textile, food items, iron and steel

Economic problems

Infrastructure deficit - access to basic services is limited, requires investment

Vulnerable to climate change-related natural disasters as rising sea levels and extreme rainfall would lead to loss of land surface and decreased food production

Diversification of export mix

Low tax-GDP ratio (7.5% in 2022) due to corruption and unwillingness of tax payer

High inflation