Photo : Messenger
Bangladesh is commemorating 54 years of independence, a significant milestone in its journey as a nation. The country has made remarkable strides, transforming its once fragile economy into a robust and thriving one.
Over the past years, Bangladesh has emerged as an exemplary model on the global stage, demonstrating impressive growth across various indicators, including GDP size, economic prowess, export earnings, and human development indices.
On one hand, the poverty rate has decreased, while on the other hand, the education rate has increased. Shedding the stigma of being ‘a bottomless basket,’ Bangladesh is moving forward with the aim of becoming the 25th largest economy in the world by 2035.
In the 54 years of independence, export earnings have increased manifold from millions to billions of dollars, reaching $55.55 billion US dollars as of 2023. The GDP has grown to about Tk 44,39,273 crore in the financial year 2022-23, compared to Tk 7,575 crore in the financial year 1973-1974. Per capita income stands at $2765, and the poverty rate has decreased to 18.7 percent.
According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, Bangladesh’s economy was valued at $966.48 billion in 2021, which increased to $1,061.57 billion in 2022 and $1,164.82 billion in 2023. The IMF projects it will grow to $1,276.02 billion in 2024 and $1,395.40 billion in 2025.
The continuous success of Bangladesh’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is now a source of surprise to the world. A significant growth in the economy of a country known for hunger, poverty, drought, and disasters was difficult to imagine even two or three decades ago. However, over the past decade, the growth has been consistently high, exceeding 8 percent in the year prior to the pandemic.
Even amidst crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, when other countries experienced negative growth, Bangladesh maintained a 5 percent GDP growth.
A review of the data reveals that Bangladesh's growth was below 5 percent for almost three decades after independence. However, it has exceeded 8 percent in the last two decades. The country’s poverty rate has halved over the past two decades due to achieving high growth. Furthermore, per capita income has exceeded $2,000.
In this regard, the Director General of the Press Institute of Bangladesh, Zafar Wazed, said, “In 1971, there were seven and a half crore people, now there are about 18 crore people. Now people can eat two meals a day, and their financial condition has improved. Villages are no longer villages in most places. That is, there has been a massive change in public life.”
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has shifted from agricultural dependence to industrial dependence, earning 83 percent of its export earnings from the industrial sector. It is estimated that Bangladesh will be the 25th largest economy in the world by 2035. It is not just economic development. Bangladesh’s score has increased in all indicators of human development, including food production, medicine, and education.
Since the period of independence, the infant mortality rate has decreased from 152 to 22 per thousand, and the maternal mortality rate from 4.78 to 1.69.
In this regard, Dr Atiur Rahman, the former governor of Bangladesh Bank, said, “Even if the change is not overnight, it is positive. I think the progress of the economy of Bangladesh since 1972 till today is amazing. The economy has undergone a major transformation in the last 50 years. Our economy was mainly based on agriculture. It is becoming industrialized now. To continue this trend, the macroeconomic needs to be strengthened and stabilized. We have several challenges with interest rates, exchange rates, erosion of reserves, but I am optimistic.”
Economists and experts said that along with progress in the human resource index, Bangladesh's economic capacity has increased to the extent that it can now finance various mega projects without relying on foreign loans, a departure from its previous development model.
Currently, remittance and the garment industry are main driving forces of Bangladesh's economy. However, due to the high cost of purchasing raw materials from abroad, the remittance sector alone serves as a significant source of foreign exchange for Bangladesh.
Dr. Zahid Hussain, the former chief economist of the World Bank’s Dhaka office, told The Daily Messenger, “Basically, the situation started to change in the 1990s as the private sector participation increased significantly as a result of opening up the economy. Since then, a mature entrepreneurial class has developed in the country, which not only keeps the domestic market strong but also paves the way for exports.”
Messenger/Disha
