Bangladesh Economy 2007

Economy - overview:
Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups also have blocked progress. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key areas. On an encouraging note, growth has been a steady 5-6% for the past several years.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$336.1 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$69.21 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,300 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 19.7%
industry: 28%
services: 52.3% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
68 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06. (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 63%
industry: 11%
services: 26% (FY95/96)

Unemployment rate:
2.5% (includes underemployment) (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
45% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 27.9% (2000 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
33.4 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.8% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
25.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $6.633 billion
expenditures: $9.34 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt:
39.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

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:
7.2% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
21.35 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
19.49 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
6,813 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption:
85,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
56 million bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production:
13.43 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
13.43 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
135.8 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
$60 million (2006 est.)

Exports:
$11.16 billion (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)

Exports - partners:
US 25%, Germany 12.6%, UK 9.8%, France 4.9% (2006)

Imports:
$14.75 billion (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement

Imports - partners:
China 17.7%, India 12.5%, Kuwait 7.9%, Singapore 5.5%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$1.321 billion (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$3.877 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$19.59 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$4.208 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$105 million (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$3.61 billion (2006)

Currency (code):
taka (BDT)

Exchange rates:
taka per US dollar - 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002)