Foreward

The present government commenced its third term in office in January this year
after achieving a landslide victory in the national election. Its popular mandate
was due to the solid socio-economic progress achieved by the country during its
last two terms. Bangladesh has achieved a remarkable 8.13 percent GDP growth
in the fiscal year 2018-19. Its economy is now recognized as one of world's
fastest growing economy in the world. Asian Development Bank has stated that
GDP growth in Bangladesh is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. The
Spectator Index in its recent publication showed Bangladesh as the top GDP
growth achiever totaling 188 percent in current prices during the last 10 years.
Together with economic advancement, the country has achieved significant
progress in the social sector as well. With the proficient and visionary leadership
along with successful economic management of the government led by Hon’ble
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, our economy is now on a strong foundation.

Bangladesh is pursuing its development efforts strategically. Its growth remains

strong and sound macroeconomic stability is the hall mark of that success.
Keeping aligned with the development objectives of the government, the size of
the budget for FY20 has been increased by 18.22 percent to Taka 5,23,190 crore
compared with that of the preceding fiscal year. At the same time, the Annual
Development Programme (ADP) has been increased to Taka 2,02,721 crore, up
by Taka 35,721 crore from the previous fiscal year. The government is now
implementing the final year of the 7th Five Year Plan, and the 8th Five Year Plan
is under preparation. Parallelly, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
implementation is in progress. Mega infrastructure projects are under speedy
implementation. Augmenting internal resource mobilization through legal and
administrative reforms are on track. The new Value Added Tax law has been
implemented in July 2019 which will boost domestic resource mobilization.
External financing for development has also increased significantly. In the last
one decade, the government has given priority to growth stimulating as well as
poverty and inequality alleviating sectors like power and energy, communication,
information technology, education, health and social safety net.

To become an upper middle-income country by 2030 and achieve the high-

income country status by 2041, Bangladesh strives to ensure huge investment in
physical and human capital, and innovation enabled by reforms in areas such as
the financial sector, business regulation, etc. Monetary policy aims to support the
momentum of higher economic growth, while containing inflation at a tolerable
level. Due to the government’s prudent monetary and fiscal policies, inflation
was contained at 5.47 percent at the end of FY19. Per capita income rose to US$
1,909 this year. Foreign exchange reserves increased at a satisfactory level. We
are confident that Bangladesh can face any challenge and would be able to
become a developed country by 2041 fulfilling the dream of Sonar Bangla
(Golden Bengal) by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.

This publication is prepared with a view to offering a brief and summarized

information on recent socio-economic advancements made by Bangladesh, and
on its march towards attaining the goal of becoming a happy and prosperous
developed country.

I hope that all concerned including government departments, academics,

researchers, foreign development partners, media, NGOs and citizens at large
will find this booklet useful and interesting.

(A H M Mustafa Kamal, FCA, MP)

Minister
Ministry of Finance
 Contents
Forward i
Executive Summary 1
Section One
Overall Socio-economic Progress 4
Section Two
Economic Progress 7
Section Three
Progress in the Social Sector 24
Section Four
Macroeconomic Update in 2018-19 28
Section Five
Journey towards a Prosperous Bangladesh 31
List of Tables
Table 1 Socio-economic Achievements during 2001-06 and 2009-19 5
Table 2 Economic Advancement 7
Table 3 Budget (Revised) at a Glance 13
Table 4 Rate of Interest of Scheduled Banks 19
Table 5 Financial Inclusion 19
Table 6 Advancement in the External Sector 21
Table 7 Commitment and Disbursement of Foreign Assistance 23
Table 8 Comparative Picture of Progress in Social Sector 24
List of Figures
Figure 1 Contribution to Real GDP growth (yearly growth in percentage point) 8
Figure 2 Per Capita GNI(US$) 9
Figure 3 Sectoral Contribution to GDP 10
Figure 4: Food Grain Production 11
Figure 5 Investment Scenario (% of GDP) 12
Figure 6 Government Budget and Annual Development Programme (ADP) 14
Figure 7 Sector-wise Average Expenditure 14
Figure 8 Budget Deficit (% of GDP) 15
Figure 9 Development of Debt Management Capacity 15
Figure 10 Broad Money as Percentage of GDP 16
Figure 11 Current Account Balance (Million US$) 22
Figure 12 Exports, Imports & Foreign Exchange Reserve 22
Figure 13 Measure of Inequality (Gini Index) 25
Executive Summary
Bangladesh has been successful in achieving a high level of economic growth in
the fiscal year FY19. An astonishing 8.13 percent growth is attained in FY19.
Progress was underpinned by 6.6 percent growth on average over the decade,
particularly the average growth in previous three years (FY16-FY18) was 7.4
percent. This robust growth enabled Bangladesh to elevate itself into the lower
middle-income country status in 2015 and fulfill all three eligibility criteria for
graduation from the LDC in 2018. Bangladesh is now well on track for
graduation into a developing country in 2024. Government's relentless efforts in
persuasion of building a poverty-free prosperous Bangladesh through ‘Vision
2021’ transformed the country from an impoverished to a developing one. At
present the country is positioned among the fastest growing economies of the
world. The growth supportive structural and financial reforms of the government,
which were inclusive and pro-poor in nature, has largely contributed to the
reduction of poverty while ensuring praiseworthy economic growth.
Macroeconomic indicators, such as GDP growth, per capita income, food
production, imports and exports, workers’ remittances and foreign exchange
reserves, recorded noteworthy and sustained progress during the last eleven
years. Besides, inflation (twelve months average) has been maintained at a
tolerable level, bringing it down from 12.3 percent in FY08 to 5.48 percent in
FY19. Furthermore, keeping public debt at a reasonable level and demonstrating
resilience to external shocks are mentionable successes of the government.
Moreover, Bangladesh has also been able to sustain its advancement in social
development parameters, such as reducing poverty, enhancing life expectancy,
improving literacy rates, increasing per capita food production and so on. More
specifically, the present government’s achievement on socioeconomic indicators
during 2009-2019 has continued to substantially outpace the past government’s
performance during 2001-06.

Economic Progress
Economic growth: GDP growth rate reached 8.13 percent in FY19. The
average growth in previous three years was 7.4 percent. Average GDP
growth during FY1 09-FY19 was 6.6 percent, whereas it was 5.4 percent
during FY01-FY06;

1
Fiscal year in Bangladesh start from 1st July of the preceding year and ends on 30th
June of the current year.
Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 1
 Per capita income has grown more than 3.5 times to US$ 1,909 in FY19
from US$ 543 in FY06;
Export earnings increased to US$ 40.54 billion (3.8 times) in FY19
from US$ 10.53 billion in FY06;
Remittance inflows stood at US$ 16.42 billion (3.4 times) in FY19 from
US$ 4.80 billion in FY06;
Foreign exchange reserves, which was only US$ 3.48 billion at the end
of FY06, increased to US$ 32.72 billion (9.4 times) at the end of FY19
that is sufficient to foot more than 6.6 months’ import bills;
Total cereal production increased by 46.0 percent to 40.7 million
metric ton in FY18 from 27.8 million metric ton in FY06;
Power generation capacity has grown more than 4.2 times, which now
stands at 22,329 MW at the end of FY19 from 5,245 MW at the end of
FY06;
Share of industrial sector in GDP has increased to 35.14 percent in
FY19 from 25.4 percent in FY06;
The size of the government budget has increased to BDT 4,425 billion
in FY19, which is more than 7 times of FY06’s budget (BDT 611
billion). It is to be mentioned that the budget size of the current FY20 is
BDT 5,231 billion which is 8.6 times higher than that of FY06.
Revenue earnings soared to BDT 2165.54 billion in FY18, which is 5
times larger than that of FY06.
Interest Rate: During FY10-FY19, real interest rate and interest spread
declined steadily; interest spread came down to 4.15 percent at the end of
FY19;
Total investment to GDP ratio increased to 31.6 percent in FY19 from
26.1 percent in FY06. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 68
percent and reached US$ 3.61 billion in 2018.
Public investment scaled up to 8.2 percent of GDP in FY19 from 5.6
percent in FY06;
Inflation rates has consistently been lowered and came down to 5.48
percent (12 months average) in FY19;
Exchange rates slightly depreciated;

2 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

Progress in the Social Sector
Life expectancy: The average life expectancy at birth, which was 66.5
years at the end of 2006, increased to 72.3 years at the end of 2018;
Headcount poverty reduced to 21.8 percent in 2018 from 38.4 percent
in 2006. Poverty continues to steadily decline till date;
Hardcore poverty reduced to 11.3 percent in 2018 from 24.2 percent in
2006;
Literacy rate (7+ years age) improved to 73.2 percent in 2018 from 52.5
percent in 2006;
Maternal mortality rate: In 2006, the number of death in terms of
maternal mortality was 3.37 per thousand live births, which was reduced
to 1.69 per thousand live births in 2018;
Infant mortality rate came down to 22 per thousand live births in 2018
from 48 per thousand live births in 2006;
Women empowerment: Female participation in labor force increased to
36.3 percent in FY17 from 29.2 percent in FY06. Women empowerment
has significantly contributed to poverty reduction;
Population growth rate came down to 1.37 percent in 2018 from 1.49
percent in 2006;
Social Safety Net Programs have been expanded significantly over the
years. In FY20, BDT 743.67 billion has been allocated for social safety
net programs.

Digital Bangladesh: The Government promised to transform the country into a

digital one in 2009 and significant development occurred in the expansion of the
information technology sector. As of July 2019, the number of mobile phone
subscribers and internet users in the country stood at 161.8 million and 96.2
million respectively. Tele density increased to 93 percent. It is to be noted that
the number of mobile phone users in 2006 was only 19.1 million and that of
internet users was 1.45 million. Bangladesh launched it’s first satellite
Bangabandhu Satellite -1 into the space in 2018.

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 3

 Section One
Overall Socio-economic Progress
The present government showed stellar performance in socio-economic
development of the country under the leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina and has started its third consecutive term. This decade has been
marked with high economic growth and sustained macroeconomic stability. The
socio-economic progress achieved by the government are summarized in this
Section, and its key features are described in details in subsequent sections. To
illustrate the magnitude of the progress, the achievements made during the
present government (2009-2019) are compared with those of the previous
government (2001-06). The appendices highlight historical data on national
income and its growth, food production, imports and exports, remittances,
exchange rate, revenue earnings, sector level expenditure, foreign aid and loan
repayments.

1.2 The government’s initiatives to increase public sector investment, reduce

physical and socio-economic infrastructure gaps, take our GDP growth to a
higher trajectory, create an investment-friendly environment for the private
sector, expand export trade, develop the knowledge base and skills of citizens,
and ensure effective redistribution of wealth through pro-poor and inclusive
policies and programs are yielding results now. In FY19 the GDP growth rate is
estimated to reach as high as 8.13 percent. There are balances on both internal
and external fronts of the economy. Inflation is under control; on the twelve
months average basis, the inflation rate has stood at 5.48 percent in July 2019
which was 5.78 percent a year ago. In FY19 exports grew by 10.55 percent over
the previous year, whereas the remittance inflow experienced a growth of 9.6
percent. During the same time the current account balance improved significantly
as the deficit came down to a manageable level. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
increased to US$ 3.61 billion in 2018.

1.3 On the fiscal front, the budget deficit has been contained within five
percent of GDP. To make the revenue collection and public expenditure
management systems more efficient and transparent, the government has been
consistently undertaking various reform initiatives especially through structural
4 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
reforms and wide application of information technologies, which are, apparently,
improving the performance of the public financial system. Moreover, the growth
promoting fiscal stance is accompanied by a supportive monetary policy which
marks contained inflation and stable interest and exchange rates.
1.4 The impact of economic progress upon the living standard is also
evident. Life expectancy at birth has increased to 72.3 years in 2018 from 66.5
years in 2006. The literacy rate was 52.5 percent in 2006, which is now 73.2
percent. Poverty rate declined to 21.8 percent in 2018 from 38.4 percent in 2006,
and hardcore poverty reduced to 11.3 percent in 2018 from 24.2 percent in 2006.
In almost all the indicators in the social sector, Bangladesh has fared much better
than other South Asian countries. Besides, it has already elevated itself into a
lower middle income country and fulfilled all three LDC graduation criteria for
becoming a developing country.

1.5 A comparative analysis of the performances during the two periods of

2001-06 and 2009-19 clearly reflects the effectiveness of the pro-growth and
inclusive development policies of the present government. Between these two
periods, the average annual GDP growth rate has moved from 5.4 percent to 6.6
percent. Bangladesh is now among the fastest growing economies of the world
and cherishes to achieve a double-digit growth by FY24. In FY06, per capita
GNI was only US$ 543, which has grown to US$ 1,909 in FY19.

1.6 A brief account in Table 1 of the socioeconomic advancement during the

2009-19 period compared to the 2001-06 period of the previous government
reveals the extent of socioeconomic success achieved by the present government.

Table 1 Socio-economic Achievements during 2001-06 and 2009-19

Indicators 2001-06 2009-19 2018-19/latest

GDP Growth Rate (%, Annual Change) 5.40 6.62 8.13*
(Average) (Average)
Investment (as % of GDP) 25.2 29.07 31.56*
(Average) (Average)
Exports [Billion US$] (average) 7.86 29.71
Exports (Billion US$) (end point) 10.53 40.54* 40.54*
(FY06) (FY19)

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 5

 Indicators 2001-06 2009-19 2018-19/latest
Remittances [Billion US$] 3.5 13.83 16.42*
(Average) (Average)
Foreign exchange Reserve [Billion US$] 2.63 22.21 32.72
(Average) (Average) (30 June 2019)
Budget Size, (Billion BDT) 497.44 2422.71 4,425.41(FY19
(Average) (Average) 5,231.90 (FY20)
Per capita income [US$] (end point) 543 1,909* 1,909*
(FY06) (FY19)
Life Expectancy (year) 66.5 72.3 72.3
(2006) (2018)
Poverty Rate (%) 38.4 21.8** 21.8**
(2006) (2018)
Extreme Poverty Rate (%) 24.2 11.3** 11.3**
(2006) (2018)
Sources: Finance Division, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; * provisional; **estimated

6 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

 Section Two
Economic Progress
Section two elaborates a detailed account of the economic progress made by
Bangladesh during 2009-19. Table 2 summarizes the movement of key
macroeconomic indicators during this period vis-à-vis the progress made during
the tenure of the previous government (2001-06).
Table 2 Economic Advancement
Fiscal GDP Investment Share of Export Remittances Foreign Budget ADP
Year Growth (% of Industry Earnings (Billion Exchange Allocation (Billion
Rate GDP) (% of (Billion US$) Reserve (Billion taka)
GDP) US$) (Billion US$) taka)
2001-02 3.8 24.3 24.0 6.0 2.5 1.6 387.6 158.5
2002-03 4.7 24.7 23.7 6.6 3.1 2.5 439.0 170.6
2003-04 5.2 25.0 24.0 7.6 3.4 2.7 493.7 190.0
2004-05 6.5 25.8 24.6 8.7 3.9 2.9 556.3 205.0
2005-06 6.7 26.1 25.4 10.5 4.8 3.5 610.6 215.0
Five
years’ 5.4 25.2 24.4 7.9 3.5 2.6 497.4 187.8
average
2008-09 5.1 26.2 26.5 15.6 9.7 7.5 941.4 230.0
2009-10 5.6 26.3 26.1 16.2 11.0 10.8 1105.2 285.0
2010-11 6.5 27.4 26.4 22.6 11.5 10.9 1300.1 358.8
2011-12 6.5 28.3 26.7 24.0 12.8 10.4 1612.1 410.8
2012-13 6.0 28.4 27.6 26.6 14.5 15.3 1893.3 523.7
2013-14 6.1 28.6 29.6 29.8 14.1 21.5 2162.2 600.0
2014-15 6.6 28.9 30.4 31.2 15.3 25.0 2396.7 750.0
2015-16 7.1 29.7 31.5 34.3 14.9 30.2 2645.7 910.0
2016-17 7.3 30.5 32.4 34.9 12.8 33.5 3171.7 1107.0

2017-18 7.86 31.2 33.7 36.7 15.0 32.9 3715.0 1483.8

2018-19p 8.13 31.6 35.1 40.5 16.4 32.7 4425.4 1670.0

Eleven
years’ 6.6 28.8 29.6 28.4 13.5 21.0 2306.6 757.2
average
Source: Finance Division; Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics,’ p=Provisional estimate

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 7

Real GDP Growth
2.2 Despite all global headwinds, GDP growth rate, which averaged around
6.62 percent between FY 09 to FY19 has been robust and stable compared to a
moderate 5.40 percent growth in 2001-06. It is noteworthy that during 2009-19
period, the average GDP growth rate in the emerging and developing economies
was 5.23 percent in contrast to a higher average growth rate of 6.9 percent during
2001-06 period.

2.3 Being supported by the government’s sound macroeconomic policies,

GDP growth rate accelerated that is reflected by above 7 percent GDP growth in
the last three consecutive fiscal years which has crossed to a record 8.13 percent
in FY19. GDP at current market prices stood at BDT 25,362 billion or US$ 301.9
billion (provisional estimates) in FY19 from BDT 54,823 billion or US$ 72
billion in FY06. Strong domestic demand (consumption and investment) driven
by country-wide vibrant economic activities and strong export and remittance
inflows was the key driver behind this aspiring growth scenario (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Contribution to Real GDP Growth (yearly growth in percentage point)

Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS); FY18-19 estimates provisional

8 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

Per Capita Income

2.4 Robust GDP growth accompanied by a decreasing population growth

rate has resulted in a considerable rise in per capita income. For instance, per
capita income rose to US$ 1,909 in FY19 (more than tripled) from US$ 543 in
FY06. In terms of purchasing power parity, per capita income reached to US$
4,364 (at current price) in 2018 from US$ 1,980 in 2006 (World Bank data).

Figure 2 Per Capita GNI (US$)

Source: BBS, p=Provisional

Structural Transformation of the Economy

2.5 On the supply side, the economy has been transforming gradually from
an agriculture-based economy to a manufacturing-based one, with the share of
agriculture going down from 18.4 percent of GDP in FY09 to 13.6 percent of
GDP in FY19, while the share of industrial sector to GDP has increased
noticeably from 26.1 percent of GDP in FY09 to 35.1 percent of GDP in FY19.
At the same time, contribution from the services sector has declined slightly.
Manufacturing sector’s evolution is evident from the rapid growth of the ready-
made garments sector on the back of low cost labour. In fact, the Bangladesh
economy is slowly heading towards a desirable economic transformation as a
strong manufacturing sector is the key to sustain the present growth momentum.

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 9

 Figure 3 Sectoral Contribution to GDP

Source: BBS, p=Provisional

Agriculture and Food Production

2.6 Continued persuasion of supportive policies has contributed to a bumper
production in agriculture. Some targeted measures undertaken by the government
to boost agriculture and food production include subsidy for agriculture
mechanization, targeted utilization of agriculture incentives, distribution of
agriculture input assistance cards, sale of fertilizer at the local level through sales
agents at subsidized prices. Introduction of integrated pest management,
extension of irrigation facility, invention of short duration and high-yielding
variety of crops tolerant to drought, salinity and submergence and fair price for
agricultural produces contributed to increasing agricultural productivity and crop
intensification.

2.7 The amount of incentives provided in the agriculture sector increased 15

times from BDT 6 billion in FY06 to BDT 90 billion in FY19. In order to
increase agricultural production, in addition to regular subsidy, 20 percent cash
incentives are provided on exports of agricultural products. At present, the rate of
incentive for mechanized agriculture has been set at 70 percent at Haor areas and
coastal parts of southern Bangladesh and 50 percent elsewhere. Research and
Development has been promoted by the government. With the help of the
decoded genome sequence of jute, two varieties of Tossa jute and one variety of
white jute have been invented which are short in length and can sustain in lower
temperature.
10 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
2.8 Total production of food crops in FY06 was 27.8 million metric tons,
which increased by 46 percent to reach 40.7 million metric tons in FY18. As a
result, Bangladesh has achieved self-sufficiency in food production in normal
weather condition. Besides, programs like TR (Test Relief), VGF (Vulnerable
Group Feeding), VGD (Vulnerable Group Development) and an increased
storage capacity of food warehouses have contributed to ensure overall food
security of the country. It may be mentioned that the total production target of
food grains in FY19 has been set at around 41.6 million metric tons.

Figure 4: Food Grain Production (Lac metric ton)

Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Ministry of Agriculture.

Industrial Production
2.9 Contribution of industrial sector to GDP at constant price has increased
to 35.1 percent in FY19 from 25.4 percent in FY06. Transfer of surplus
agricultural workers to the burgeoning industrial sector has resulted in increased
productivity as well as wage of those workers on one hand, and increase of
overall industrial production on the other. During the last eleven years,
Bangladesh has been transformed into a technology-led modern state through
widespread development of ICT friendly infrastructure and environment. At the
same time, there has been a positive change in the general index of industrial
production (medium and large scale manufacturing). Up to FY18, the Quantum
index of manufacturing industries and electricity sector rose 3.4 and 2.7 times
respectively.
Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 11
Service Sector
2.10 While there has been a slight decline in the share of services sector, a
qualitative change has taken place over the years. Services sector components
such as transport and communication, education, retail and wholesale increased
substantially in FY19 as compared to FY06. Contribution of Transport and
Communication and Wholesale and Retail Trade increased to 11.0 percent and
13.9 percent respectively in FY19 from 10.2 percent and 13.6 percent
respectively in FY06. This indeed is an indicator of a growing service-oriented
market economy.

Investment
2.11 Total investment stood at 31.6 percent of GDP in FY19 from 26.1
percent in FY06. Especially in conformation with the government’s economic
policies, public investment has raisen substantially to 8.2 percent of GDP in
FY19 from 5.60 percent in FY06. Emphasis was given to physical
infrastructure sectors, such as power, energy, and communication, which helped
boost private investment 4.2 times to BDT 5,934 billion in FY19 from BDT
993 billion in FY06. In addition, human development and social security
programmes were among the priority areas. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
reached US$ 3.61 billion in 2018. The average FDI inflows rose by almost 4
times to US$ 2,067 million during 2009-19 period compared to US$522 million
on average in 2001-06.

Figure 5 Investment Scenario (% of GDP)

Source: BBS
12 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
Revenue Earnings

2.12 Increasing mobilization of domestic resources for financing development

has always been a priority. The government has initiated several administrative
and regulatory reforms including automation and modernization of the revenue
administration and implementation of the Value Added Tax and Supplementary
Duty Act 2012. Facilitated by the improved and automated institutional
mechanism, tax compliance has been increasing and the direct tax net has been
widening gradually. The total revenue earnings increased to 9.6 percent of GDP
in FY18 from 8.8 percent of GDP in FY06, of which, tax revenue rose to 8.3
percent of GDP in FY18 from 7.0 percent of GDP in FY06. From NBR sources,
tax revenue increased 8.64 times from BDT 324 billion in FY06 to 2800 billion
in FY19.

Table 3: Budget (revised) at a Glance

(Billion Taka)
2018-19 2005-06
Revenue 3166.1 448.70
a) Tax Revenue 2896.0 361.8
b) Non-tax Revenue 270.1 86.9
Foreign Grants 37.87 24.8
Total Revenue including Foreign Grants 3204.0 473.5
Total Budget Allocation 4425.2 610.6
of which Annual Development Program 215.0
1670.0
(ADP)
Overall Balance -1453.8 -137.1
Financing
Foreign Borrowing 433.9 55.7
Domestic 787.5 81.4
Source: Finance Division

Budget Size and Management

2.13 The government’s fiscal stance has been growth stimulation on the one
hand, and poverty and inequality reduction on the other. In line with that, the size
of the government budget has increased by more than five times and reached
BDT 4,425 billion in FY19 from BDT 611 billion in FY06. The budget for FY20
has been set at BDT 5,231 billion which is eight times higher than that of FY06.

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 13

 Figure 6: Government Budget and Annual Development Programme (ADP) (Billion Tk)

Source: Finance Division, Ministry of Finance

Most importantly government development spending has seen a manifold

increase. The size of Annual Development Programme (ADP) has been raised to
BDT 2,021 billion in FY20, which is about 10 times higher compared to BDT
194.7 billion in FY06. Development expenditure other than the ADP allocation
has also been increased consistently.

2.14 In terms of allocation of resources, emphasis was given on growth

promoting sectors like power and energy, communication, health and education,
agriculture and so on. In addition, the coverage of social safety net programmes
has been extended substantially.

Figure 7: Sector-wise average expenditure (billion taka)

Source: Finance Division, Ministry of Finance

14 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
2.15 As a whole, the government’s prudent fiscal policy, being guided by
‘Public Money and Budget Management Act, 2009’, helped contain fiscal deficit
within five percent of GDP (4.7 percent of GDP in FY18).
Figure 8: Budget Deficit (% of GDP)

Source: Finance Division, Ministry of Finance

As stipulated in the act, recurrent spending has been kept in line with the revenue
growth. As a result, public debt-to-GDP ratio remained stable and on a declining
trend. Budget deficit has been kept under 5.0 percent of GDP over the years (4.7
percent of GDP in FY18). Moreover, the government’s debt management and
repayment capacity, with limited contingent liabilities, has gradually improved
due to a low level of budget deficit and adoption of prudent debt management
strategy. The stock of outstanding public debt has come down to 31.9 percent of
GDP at the end of FY18 from 43.5 percent of GDP at the end of FY06.
Figure 9: Development of Debt Management Capacity
(Outstanding Debt-GDP ratio)

Source: Bangladesh Bank, FD, ERD

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 15
2.16 In financing the fiscal deficit, share of foreign financing has declined
gradually while financing from domestic sources remain stable. Although
nonbank borrowing has increased significantly in the recent past (14.2 percent of
GDP at the end of FY17) with the increased sale of national savings certificates
(NSCs), it shrank to 12.0 percent GDP in FY18. Recently Government has
initiated automation in sales of NSC to reduce dependence on it.

Monetary Management and Inflation

2.17 The monetary policy has broadly been growth supportive. Bangladesh
Bank’s macro-prudential measures helped maintain a consistent growth of
private investment while containing inflation at a tolerable level. Components of
the Broad money, which are the key influencing factors behind inflation, have
largely been in line with the monetary policy targets. Broad money remains close
to nominal GDP growth and monetary development generally has helped lower
inflation rate which was 5.52 percent in June, 2019 (Point to point basis).

Figure 10: Broad Money as percentage of GDP

Source: Bangladesh Bank

2.18 Despite annual average GDP growth of 6.6 percent during 2009-19, CPI
inflation was contained within 7.0 percent on average. It has gradually been
brought down to 5.47 percent (12-month average basis) at the end of FY19
through effective macroeconomic management and ease of supply bottlenecks.
Although inflation pressure is generally observed in election year. But prudent
government interventions have contained that pressure and inflation remained
within the tolerant level.
16 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
Financial Deepening and Inclusion
2.19 Depth of the financial sector has increased substantially during the
FY10-FY19 period as Broad money-GDP ratio, an indicator of financial depth of
an economy, rose to 48.1 percent at the end of FY19 from 37.5 percent in FY06.
Efficiency of the financial intermediation, measured by the spread between
lending and deposit rates, has also improved significantly as the interest spread
(weighted average) between advances and deposit rates was reduced to 4.15
percent at the end of FY19 from 5.38 percent at the end of FY06. During first
half of 2018, some initiatives were taken to tackle temporary liquidity imbalances
in the banking sector. These were reduction of overnight repo rate to 6.0 percent,
including extension of repo maturity to 7, 14 and 28 days. CRR (Cash Reserve
Ratio) has been reduced by 1 percent. Decision has also been made to cut the
advance-deposit ratio (ADR). Furthermore private banks can now hold 50
percent of any government fund, which was 25 percent previously. All these
initiatives helped banks to control the interest rate spike.

2.20 Banks are being guided to pursue their credit policies and programs in
line with the priorities of the government. Special interest ceiling and
disbursement targets are set for the agriculture and rural as well as SMEs (small
and medium enterprises) sectors. Noteworthy initiatives and achievements of the
present government on this count include:

Compared to FY06, agricultural and industrial loan reached around 2.8

and 7.4 times respectively in FY19. Agricultural and industrial loan
were BDT 153.8 billion and BDT 273.8 billion respectively at the end
of FY06; whereas credit balances for agricultural loan increased to
BDT 429.74 billion at the end of FY19 and credit balances for
industrial loan increased to BDT 2,037.9 billion at the end of March
FY19. Side by side, credit balance in private sector rose to 39.8 percent
of GDP in FY19 from 27.4 percent of GDP in FY06.

Deposits of scheduled banks, as percentage of GDP, increased to 47.0

percent in FY18 from 35 percent in FY06. As a result, the lending
capacity of banks has also increased. In fact, it increased to 48.0
percent of GDP in FY18 from 26.9 percent in FY06.

With a view to bringing a wider section of unbanked population of the

country under banking services net, school-banking programme has
been launched. At the same time, farmers, beneficiaries of social safety
Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 17
 net programme, freedom fighters, cleaners, and ayla-affected poor have
been provided with opportunities to open bank accounts with BDT 10
only (no-frils account). Moreover, re-financing schemes have been
introduced to provide credit to share-croppers, agro-based industry,
SMEs and environment-friendly projects. Supported by refinancing
facilities loan disbursement to women entrepreneurs has more than
doubled between 2010 and 2017.

State-owned commercial banks have been brought under the Core

Banking Solution technology.

Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) has recognized

Bangladesh’s measures for the prevention of money laundering and
terrorism financing as of international standards. Moreover,
Bangladesh is considered a ‘compliant country’ in terms of preventing
money laundering and terrorist financing. It has already been
recognized as one of the leading countries in the Asia region in this
context.

2.21 The government’s success in establishing country wide digital

infrastructure have created a solid base for promoting financial inclusion through
mobile and internet services. Taking advantage of these facilities, financial
services are being brought even to geographically difficult locations through
ATM, mobile financial services and agent-banking. The number of scheduled
bank branches increased substantially (59.4% increase) from 6,435 at the end of
FY06 to 10,260 by December 2018. As of December 2015, the scheduled banks
had 56.76 percent of their branches in rural areas. It is noteworthy that the
number of bank branches in the rural areas exceeds the number of branches in the
urban area. Moreover, the coverage of mobile banking and agent banking
services has been widening very rapidly. All these endeavors continue to ease
financial transactions and ensure circulation of money to facilitate economic
activity in the economy.

18 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

 Table 4: Rate of Interest of Scheduled Banks
Rate of Interest of scheduled banks
(weighted average)
Fiscal Year Deposit Advances Spread
2005-06 6.68 12.06 5.38
2006-07 6.85 12.78 5.93
2007-08 6.95 12.29 5.34
2008-09 7.01 11.87 4.86
2009-10 6.01 11.31 5.30
2010-11 7.27 12.42 5.15
2011-12 8.15 13.75 5.60
2012-13 8.54 13.67 5.13
2013-14 7.79 13.10 5.31
2014-15 6.80 11.67 4.87
2015-16 5.54 10.39 4.85
2016-17 4.84 9.56 4.72
2017-18 5.50 9.95 4.45
2018-19p 5.43 9.58 4.15
Source: Bangladesh Bank.

Table 5: Financial Inclusion

Financial Inclusion
Number of Number of Number of Number of Number of No. of
branches of agents of mobile mobile banking agents for subscriber for ATMS
schedule banks Banking subscriber agent-based agent-based
services banking banking
2013-14 8794 346179 16462610 18 3117 5778

2014-15 9131 547407 28625131 100 37052 6480

2015-16 9453 617418 36333933 610 261693 8517

2016-17 9720 758570 53702690 2891 845699 9246

2017-18 10114 829783 61862982 3598 1783156 9747

Source: Bangladesh Bank.

2.22 Mobile Financial Services, since its inception in 2011, has been
experiencing a remarkable growth. MFS has become a key driver of financial
inclusion through providing services for the unbanked population segment and in
unblocking the advancement opportunities for the underserved section of the
society. As on December 2018, a total of 886 thousand agents served 67.15
million registered customers. Monthly transactions stood at BDT 321 billion. The
rural unbanked population has significantly benefitted from this service.
Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 19
Capital Market Development
2.23 In an effort to develop the capital market for mobilizing long-term
financing for investment the government has initiated various administrative and
regulatory reforms. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission
(Alternative Investment) Rules, 2015 has been formulated with a view to meeting
the capital needs of start-ups and new companies in the market. Further,
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Qualified Investor Offer by
Small Capital Companies) Rules, 2016 has been formulated to establish a Small
Cap Platform for facilitating capital formation in small and medium enterprises.
Side by side, in order to launch a new product Exchange Traded Fund (ETF),
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (ETF) Rules, 2016 has been
formulated. Other important rules formulated in 2009-18 period include BSEC
(Substantial Share Inheritance, Acquisition and Takeover) Rules 2018, BSEC
(Market Maker) Rules 2017 and BSEC (Clearing and Settlement) Rules 2017. As
a result of these reforms, the volume of share and securities transaction has
increased substantially. At the end of FY05, the market capitalization of listed
securities in Dhaka Stock Exchange was BDT 222.04 billion (6.03 percent of
GDP); at the end of FY19, it has increased to BDT 3998.16 billion which is 15.8
percent of GDP. Besides, the total volume of market transactions in Dhaka Stock
Exchange increased from BDT 752.53 billion in FY05 to BDT 1459.65 billion in
FY19.

Foreign Trade
2.24 The world economy was passing through a recession starting in 2008 that
persisted for some years. During that turbulent global situation the government’s
prudent macroeconomic management helped ensure resilience to external shocks.
The external sector remained vibrant; both exports and imports have increased to
four times in FY19 compared to FY06. Volumes of exports and imports, which
were US$ 10.5 billion and US$14.7 billion respectively in FY06 increased to
US$ 40.5 billion and US$ 59.9 billion respectively in FY19. Market oriented
policy and product diversification strategy undertaken by the present government
has boosted the trade openness (values of total imports and exports compared to
GDP) to 33.3 percent of GDP in FY19. Volume of trade crossed 100 billion US
dollars in 2018-19(p).
20 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
 Table 6: Advancement in the External Sector
(Billion US$)
Remittance
Export/GDP Import/GDP Forex
Indicators Export Import Remittances as % of
(%) (%) Reserve
GDP
2005-06 10.5 14.6 14.7 20.5 3.5 4.8 6.7
2006-07 12.2 15.3 17.2 21.5 5.1 6.0 7.5
2007-08 14.1 15.4 21.6 23.6 6.1 7.9 8.6
2008-09 15.6 15.2 22.5 22.0 7.5 9.7 9.5
2009-10 16.2 14.1 23.7 20.6 10.7 11.0 9.5
2010-11 22.9 17.8 33.7 26.2 10.9 11.7 9.1
2011-12 24.3 18.2 35.5 26.6 10.4 12.8 9.6
2012-13 27.0 18.0 34.1 22.7 15.3 14.5 9.6
2013-14 30.2 17.4 39.3 22.6 21.5 14.2 8.2
2014-15 31.2 16.0 40.7 20.9 25.0 15.3 7.9
2015-16 34.3 15.5 42.9 19.4 30.2 14.9 6.7
2016-17 34.8 14.4 47.0 19.4 33.4 12.8 5.3
2017-18 36.7 13.4 58.9 21.5 32.9 15.0 5.5
2018-19p 40.5 13.4 59.9 19.8 32.7 16.4 5.4
Source: Bangladesh Bank; p=provisional

Remittances
2.25 Supported by the increasing trend in workers’ migration, remittance
inflows have increased about four times over the past decade reaching around
US$ 16.4 billion in FY19 from US$ 4.8 billion in FY06. Huge inflow of
workers’ remittances has been the key impetus behind strong domestic demand,
sound BOP position and healthy foreign exchange. Indeed, remittances have
positively affected economic growth and poverty reduction processes.

Current Account Balances

2.26 Current account had consistently been registering surplus although
turned into a deficit since FY17 due to higher import in contrast to slower export
growth and decline in remittances. Nevertheless, the current account deficit in
FY17 mainly reflected higher investments rather than lower savings. This is
attributable to increased import demand for capital machinery and industrial raw
materials relating to mega projects and food grains. However, strong growth in
export earnings coupled with a rebound in remittances in FY19 have been able
to ease the situation by this time. It may also be noted that import demands for
large capital machinery are one-off in nature implying the import payment would
ultimately come down. Deficit came down to US$ 5.2 billion in FY19.
Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 21
 Figure 11: Current Account Balance (Million US$)

Source: Bangladesh Economic Review, Bangladesh Bank

Foreign Exchange Reserve

2.27 Strong growth in export earnings and workers’ remittances has helped
build healthy reserve coverage. Reserve growth has been modest and remains
adequate to foot the required imports and finance external debt. As on 30 June
2019, foreign exchange reserve stood at US$ 32.7 billion, which is about 9.5
times higher than that of FY06 stock (US$ 3.5 billion). This reserve was
sufficient to foot import bills for 6.6 months. Exchange rate of taka against US
dollar has slightly depreciated. Bangladesh Bank remains cautious and intervenes
in the market as and when needed to avoid large fluctuations. As a whole foreign
exchange rate of taka vis-à-vis other foreign currencies remains broadly stable.

Figure 12: Exports, Imports & Foreign Exchange Reserve

Source: Bangladesh Bank

22 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

Commitment and Disbursement of Foreign Assistance
2.28 Foreign assistance and its utilization have been increasing significantly
over the last 10 years. Foreign assistance commitment stood at US$ 82,899 million
during this time. An analysis of the disbursement data shows that about US$
3,171 million, on average, worth of foreign assistance was utilized annually
during 2009-19. In contrast, annual average utilization of foreign aid during
2001-06 was merely US$ 1,423 million.

Table 7: Commitment and Disbursement of Foreign Assistance

(Million US$)

Fiscal Initial Commitment Disbursement

Year Pipe Line

Grant Loan Total Grant Loan Total

2005-06 6694.5 628.4 1159.0 1787.4 500.5 1067.1 1567.6

2006-07 6759.5 728.5 1527.6 2256.1 590.2 1040.4 1630.6

2007-08 7288.3 961.9 1880.6 2842.4 658.1 1403.4 2061.5

2008-09 8682.1 423.3 2021.1 2444.3 657.8 1189.5 1847.3

2009-10 8861.3 555.1 2428.5 2983.7 639.2 1588.6 2227.8

2010-11 9429.4 830.5 5138.2 5968.6 745.1 1031.6 1776.7

2011-12 14152.0 1441.4 3323.2 4764.5 588.0 1538.5 2126.5

2012-13 15436.1 554.5 5300.1 5854.6 726.3 2084.7 2811.0

2013-14 16637.7 497.8 5346.4 5844.2 680.7 2403.7 3084.4

2014-15 18174.8 493.7 4764.8 5258.5 570.8 2472.2 3043.1

2015-16 18693.6 544.9 6503.2 7048.1 530.6 3033.0 3563.6

2016-17 22067.9 404.5 17557.3 17961.9 459.4 3217.9 3677.3

2017-18 35748.8 705.1 14269.8 14974.9 382.4 5986.9 6369.4

2018-19* 44529.2 1547.0 8248.8 9795.9 256.0 5954.1 6210.1

Source: Economic Relations Division, *Provisional data

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 23

 Section Three
Progress in the Social Sector
Based on a solid economic growth in recent years with a remarkable rate of 8.13
percent in FY19, and supported by positive impacts of economic momentum,
Bangladesh moved ahead towards fulfilling its aspiration of building a poverty
free and equitable society. Commencing its third tenure in January this year, the
government has continued to pursue development strategies and policies of its
previous two tenures in line with those aspirational goals. As a result,
considerable headway has been achieved in several social indicators. It has
achieved most of the crucial Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets like
reducing poverty, poverty gap ratio, attaining gender parity in primary and
secondary education, reducing incidence of communicable diseases and
improving child and maternal health. Likewise, the country has been a leader in
approaching the SDGs proactively, assigning goals to government ministries to
incorporate into their respective operational plans. An Action Plan for
Implementation of SDG is prepared. Bangladesh has also made commendable
progress in human development index as well.
3.2 A comparative account of the progress made in the social sector is
presented in Table 8 below:
Table 8: Comparative picture of progress in social sector

Per Life Literacy Maternal Infant

Population Poor Extreme
Capita Expectancy Rate Mortality Rate Mortality Rate
Year Growth People Poor
GNI at birth (7+Population) (per 1000 live (per 1000 live
Rate* (%) (%) (%)
(Dollar) (years) (%) births) births)

2004 500 65.1 1.50 41.6 27.2 50.0 3.65 51.0

2005 527 65.2 1.49 40.0 25.1 52.1 3.48 50.0
2006 543 66.5 1.49 38.4 24.2 52.5 3.37 45.0
2009 759 67.2 1.36 33.4 19.3 56.7 2.59 39.0
2010 843 67.7 1.36 31.5 17.6 56.8 2.16 36.0
2011 928 69.0 1.37 29.9 15.7 56.1 2.09 35.0
2012 955 69.4 1.37 28.5 15.4 56.3 2.03 33.0
2013 1054 70.4 1.37 27.2 14.6 57.2 1.97 31.0
2014 1184 70.7 1.37 26.0 13.8 58.6 1.93 30.0
2015 1316 70.9 1.37 24.8 12.9 63.6 1.81 29.0
2016 1465 71.6 1.37 24.3 12.9 71.0 1.78 28.0
2017 1610 72.0 1.37 23.1 12.1 72.3 1.72 24.0
2018 1751 72.3 137 21.8** 11.3** 73.2 1.69 22.0
Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)
Note: *= Based on the population census of 2001 and 2011;
**= Estimated by BBS.
24 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
Reduction of Poverty
3.3 Bangladesh has made commendable progress in respect of eradication of
poverty and hunger. Generally, acceleration of growth reduces poverty. The high
and inclusive growth, together with the government’s distributional policies-
strategies including progressive tax structure, domestic and overseas employment
generation, skill development training and social protection programme, has
resulted in an impressive reduction in the rate and depth of poverty. The rate of
poverty (or, upper poverty) is reduced from 38.4 percent in 2006 to 21.8 percent
in 2018. Extreme poverty (or, lower poverty) has also gone down to 11.3 percent
in 2018 from 24.2 percent in 2006. Using the CBN method, at lower poverty line
poverty gap is estimated at 2.3 percent in 2016 which was 3.1 percent in 2010.
Again, at the upper poverty line the gap is estimated at 5.0 percent in 2016 which
was 6.5 percent in 2010. The present government has a priority to reduce the
poverty rate to 12.3 percent and the extreme poverty rate to 4.5 percent by 2023-24.

3.4 Inequality measured in terms of Gini Index remained broadly stable. As

shown in Figure 13 using data from the Household Income and Expenditure
Survey (HIES) 2016, while income Gini Index has only slightly worsened in
2016 after showing improvement in 2010, consumption Gini Index has continued
to improve over the years. Bangladesh’s position in the Global Hunger Index of
2018 was 86th, while that of India and Pakistan were 103 and 106.

Figure 13: Measure of Inequality (Gini Index)

0.483
0.467

0.458
0.410

0.334

0.332

0.321

0.324

2000 2005 2010 2016 2000 2005 2010 2016

Income Gini Index Consumption Gini Index

Source: BBS

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 25

Social Protection Programme
3.5 The government adopted the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS)
2015 and prepared Action Plan to eradicate poverty. For this purpose the use of
targeted and efficiently monitored social safety net programs has seen a manifold
increase. To ensure inclusive economic benefits for all, both the coverage and the
budget allocation have been increasing every year. Almost a quarter of the
families in the country have now been brought under the social security program,
as about 4.5 million people currently receive various financial assistance under
the program. In FY20, the government has allocated Taka 743.67 billion for the
program, which is 14.21 percent of total budget and 2.58 percent of GDP. The
allocation for this sector will be doubled in the next 5 years. To enhance the
effectiveness of social safety net programmes by ensuring the selection of
genuine beneficiaries, steps have been taken to establish MIS for all programmes
and database for all beneficiaries. Payments are being made directly from the
government to the beneficiaries through the G2P system, which has so far been
rolled out to 9 cash transfer programs.
Education and Health
3.6 The government’s efforts to create skilled human resource, reduce
discrimination in education, achieve qualitative excellence, expand MPO
enlistment, and emphasize subject-based classrooms have led to noteworthy
progress in the education sector. Similarly, its dedication and sincerity to develop
a healthy and energetic population by ensuring quality health services, nutrition,
affordable and quality family planning have also paid off. Major progresses made
in the education and health sector are as follows:
The net primary education enrolment increased to 97.85 percent in 2018
compared to 94.8 percent in 2010, while dropout rate declined from 39.8 percent
to 18.6 percent in 2018;
The rate of people receiving technical education was 2 percent in 2006, which
has now risen to 16 percent in 2018;
The adult literacy rate (15+ years) increased from 58.4 percent in 2009 to 73.9
percent in 2018. In this, the adult women literacy rate has increased significantly
from 54.3 percent in 2009 to 71.2 percent in 2018;
Neo-natal mortality rate (per 1000 live births) declined from 20 in 2005 to 16 in
2018;
Under 5 child mortality rate (per 1000 live births) dropped from 36 in 2005 to
29 in 2018;
The number of medical colleges has increased from 46 in 2006 to 111 in 2018;
The government provides basic health care to the rural people through 13,779
community clinics, where every day 40 people get services from each clinic, 80
percent of which are women and children.
26 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
Women and Child Development

3.7 In accordance with Articles 19, 27, 28 and 29 of the Constitution, the
government is committed to establish equal rights and dignity of women and men
and ensure participation of women in all spheres of national lives. To that end, it
has taken appropriate programs to ensure education, health, employment and
empowerment of women. To incorporate women into the mainstream of the
development process, the government has set a priority to continue the food
assistance programme (VGD) for distressed mothers, allowances for pregnant
mothers, allowances for lactating and working mothers, and provision of
microcredit to ensure women empowerment. Vocational, job-oriented and
income-generating trainings are provided to women to create self-employment
opportunities, and legal assistance and counsel will be provided to women to
safeguard against violence against women.

3.8 Ensuring children’s welfare is also one of the priority issues for the
government. The budget allocation for the children in the current fiscal year
(FY20) is Tk. 80,200 crore, which is 15.33 percent of the national budget. The
government has established child day care centers to assist working women. The
Child Day Care Act is currently being drafted.

3.9 Among the countries in South Asia region, Bangladesh has continued to
top the list of countries in reducing gender disparity. According to ‘The Global
Gender Gap Report, 2018’ published by the World Economic Forum, Bangladesh
secured 48th position among 149 countries, while the rank in 2006 was 91st
among 115 countries. It is far ahead of other South Asian countries, such as Sri
Lanka, Nepal, India, Maldives, Bhutan and Pakistan (100th, 105th, 108th, 113th,
122th and 148th respectively) in terms of gender parity. On this score, Bangladesh
is very much ahead in reducing gender disparity in the Muslim world, and even
ahead of the developed countries such as the United States and China.

Human Development
3.10 Bangladesh has continued to make good progress in the human
development index (HDI). According to the latest Human Development Report,
2017 published in 2018 by the UNDP, Bangladesh was ranked 136th among 189
countries in terms of human development, advancing three positions from the
previous year. The value of our HDI rose from 0.595 in 2016 to 0.608 in 2017.
Bangladesh has also done well in the new Human Capital Index 2018 published
by the World Bank, securing 106th position among 157 countries and staying
ahead of both India and Pakistan.
Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 27
 Section Four
Macroeconomic Update in 2018-19
Consistent pursuance of sound macroeconomic policies and adoption of
structural reforms have contributed in maintaining the high level of growth in
economic development. A brief narrative of the macroeconomic scenario in
FY19 is presented in this section.

Real Sector
Bangladesh has shown an impressive performance in attracting foreign direct
investment (FDI). FDI stood at US$ 3.61 billion in 2018, showing a significant
increase (68 percent) over 2017 when net FDI was US$ 2.15 billion. FDI stocks
rose to US$ 17.06 by December 2018, which was at U$ 14.56 billion by
December 2017.

Among the growth stimulating factors-

Private sector credit recorded 11.29 percent growth by June of FY19, which was
lower than 16.94 percent of the same month of FY18. On the other hand, public
sector credit grew by 19.15 percent by June of FY19, which as negative (-0.45
percent) in June 2018.

The rate of implementation of ADP reached 94.36 percent in FY19, surpassing

last year’s achievement of 94.02 percent. This also marked a new record during
the 2009-2019 tenure of the present government.

During the July-March period of FY19, the general index of industrial

production (medium and large scale manufacturing) has increased by 14.64
percent over the same period last year, and stood at 387.80.

In FY19, disbursement of agricultural credit and non-farm rural credit increased

by 12.23 percent and 4.57 percent respectively compared to that in FY18. The
banks disbursed agricultural and non-farm rural credit amounting a total of BDT
236.16 billion in FY19.

Inflation rate (twelve months average) was brought down to 5.48 percent at the
end of FY19, compared to 5.78 percent in FY18.

Point-to-point inflation remained stable in June 2019 at 5.52 percent.

28 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
Fiscal Sector
Total revenue income was BDT 2165.55 billion in FY18 compared to BDT
2012.31 billion in FY17;

Total expenditure in FY18 amounted to BDT 3218.62 billion compared to BDT

2693.80 billion in previous fiscal year.

Monetary and Financial Sector

Broad money and domestic credit growth remained moderate. In FY19, broad
money grew by 9.88 percent, well below the target of 12.0 percent; Its growth
was 9.2 percent in FY18. Again, domestic credit grew by 12.17 percent, well
within the target of 15.9 percent; Its growth was 14.70 percent in FY18.

Under the latest monetary policy statement (Fiscal Year 2019-20) of the
Bangladesh Bank, targets in FY20 for domestic credit and broad money were set
at 15.9 and 12.5 percent respectively.

Bank interest rate is gradually decreasing; the weighted average of the bank
interest rate for deposits and advances and the spread stood at 5.43, 9.58, and
4.15 percent respectively in June 2019, which were 5.50, 9.95, and 4.45 percent
respectively in June 2018.

External Sector
Recent trends in the external sector, such as trade, remittance, current account
balance, etc., are highlighted below:
In FY19, export earnings from goods amounted to US$ 40.54 billion
registering an increase of 10.55 percent over FY18. Export earnings from
services in FY19 amounted to US$ 6.34 billion, showing a significant growth
by 46.06 percent over FY18. Among export products, the ready-made
garments (RMG) sector performed well as usual (covering 84.19 percent of
total exports) due to adaption of various steps including the provision of
export incentives to RMG exports to non-traditional markets.

In FY19, total imports (C&F) stood at US$ 59.91 billion (provisional),

reflecting only a nominal year-on year growth of 1.78 percent over the same in
FY18 (US$ 58.86 billion). Reduction in rice and wheat imports due to bumper
crop this year contributed to slowing the growth in imports.

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 29

 Remittance inflows continued to grow in FY19, reflecting a 9.62 percent
growth in FY19 over that in FY18, and stood at US$ 16.42 billion in June
2019. In FY18 remittances growth was 17.3 percent. The recent government
declaration of 2 percent incentives is expected to boost remittance inflows
further in FY20.

Foreign exchange reserves remained stable at US$ 32.72 billion at the end of
FY19, which was US$ 32.92 billion on 30 June 2018. This reserve is broadly
adequate to cover imports of goods and services of about 6.6 months.

The current account balance has improved to lower deficit mainly due to the
reduction in trade deficit and the surge in remittance inflows. In FY19, the
current account deficit was reduced to US$ 5.25 billion (provisional) compared
to the high deficit of US$ 9.57 billion in FY18.

At the end of June, 2019, nominal exchange rate was BDT 84.5 per US dollar
which was BDT 83.7 per US dollar at the end of June 2018. It indicates that
Bangladesh Taka against US dollar has depreciated only slightly by 0.95
percent.

30 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

 Section Five
Journey towards a Prosperous Bangladesh

The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman formulated the
1st Five Year Plan immediately after liberation and initiated a host of socio-
economic activities to achieve the goal of building a Sonar Bangla. With the
same focus, the present government under the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina, assuming the responsibility of office in 2009, formulated the Perspective
Plan under the ambit of which the 6th Five Year and the 7th Five Year Plans were
prepared. It also declared the Vision 2021 to establish Bangladesh as a poverty-
free, prosperous middle income country. The account of socio-economic
advancement made in the preceding chapters in this booklet demonstrates the
government’s enviable progress in realizing the vision within the quickest
possible time.
5.2 As the Bangladesh economy progressed at an unprecedented pace in the
last decade, the country elevated itself into a lower-middle income country, and
fulfilled all the criteria of graduation into a developing country, this socio-
economic success enabled the government to move ahead with a new Perspective
Plan 2021-2041 named ‘Vision 2041’. Besides, an integrated long term
‘Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100’ has been formulated. Now, the journey is on to
become a peaceful, happy and prosperous developed country by 2041.
Continuing the journey steadily with sustained and inclusive growth will require
increase in productive investment, added fiscal space through revenue
mobilization and spending efficiency, prudent macroeconomic policies,
improved governance, and skills development.

Scaling Up Investment and Boosting Private Sectors

5.3 To materialize the government’s goal of sustaining the momentum of
high growth and achieving a double-digit growth by FY24, the country will need
to attract a high level of investment to GDP ratio. Although the overall
investment hovered around 27-30 percent of GDP during the last decade, it
crossed the 30 percent mark in FY18 by attaining 31.23 percent mainly due to
buoyant public spending in mega infrastructures. In FY19, it has increased
further to 31.56 percent where public investment was 8.17 percent. For
enhancing productive investment, the government will strive to remove the key
bottlenecks in the economy with special emphasis on power and energy, ports,
Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 31
communication, and ICT sectors. Besides, higher and targeted spending on health
and education sector and needed reforms in related policies would likely to
increase employability and address skill mismatch. Targets have been set for the
overall improvement of education, achieving qualitative excellence, and
expansion of education. Classrooms will be made subject-specific so that our
education system can reap benefits from the fourth Industrial Revolution.

5.4 In FY19, private investment constituted 23.40 percent of GDP. To boost

private investment, the government is engaged in creating an enabling
environment by providing necessary infrastructure and policy support. To
facilitate private sector development, the government has taken various reforms
initiatives to streamline the business processes in Bangladesh. The One Stop
Service Act, 2018 has been enacted to simplify and integrate the delivery of
various services, facilities, licenses and permissions in a timely manner. Further,
the government slashed down fees and charges applicable on various business
processes to reduce the costs of doing business, and improve Bangladesh’s
position in the World Bank’s Doing Business Index. The government also
encourages financing under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative and
framed necessary legal framework. Implementation of 3 PPP projects is
underway at a cost of US$ 2.7 billion. At present, 61 PPP projects have been
selected for implementation, and a good number of projects are in the pipeline.

Economic Zones
5.5 The government has been promoting the economic zone (EZ) regime to
encourage industrialization, attract foreign direct investment, generate
employment, enhance production and promote exports. 100 EZs will be
established, of which the construction work of ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
Industrial Area’, the largest, planned and modern industrial area on 30,000 acres
of land at Mirsarai, Sonagazi and Shitakunda Upazila, is progressing in full
swing. In addition, the government has made progress in developing the
Maheskhali EZ, the Srihatta (Sylhet) EZ, the Jamalpur EZ, etc. These EZs have
received a large volume of industrial investment proposals amounting to US$
16.86 billion from 67 industries. The government has created scopes for private
sector EZs, as pre-qualification licenses is awarded to 17 private EZ of which 7
have already received final permits. These private EZs have so far invested
US$1.35 billion and create employment opportunities for 16,500 people. Further,
in view of great demand from foreign investors, the government has agreed to

32 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

develop EZs catering to country-specific investment on the basis of Government-
to-Government (G2G) initiatives, of which the Japanese EZ is in advanced stage
of development, while others (e.g. Chinese and Indian) are in their primary
stages. 28 High Tech parks are being built in which IT companies can set-up
their establishments.

Fiscal Stance
5.6 Fiscal policy will continue to focus on growth stimulation without
undermining fiscal sustainability i.e. ensuring stable public debt in the medium
and long term. There would be emphasis on raising tax revenue through
intensification of ongoing reforms in the revenue administration including
widening the tax net and coverage, transparency in bonded warehouse
management, and bringing all import and export consignments under the
scanning system. The new VAT law has been implemented from July 2019, and
in conjunction with this, the government plans to introduce Electronic Fiscal
Device (EFD) from October 2019 in business installations to bring them under an
online network and reduce the scope of VAT evasion. The bill for a new
Customs law is placed at the National Parliament; once enacted it will streamline
customs process and enhance collection of duties and taxes. At the same time,
logical restrain, as usual, on recurrent expenditure and ongoing public financial
reform process is expected to increase efficiency in government spending and
thereby create additional fiscal spaces. Most importantly, ADP utilization has
been accelerated with 94.36 percent implementation in FY19. For financing
deficit, efforts will be there to rely on concessional external financing to the
extent possible.

Monetary and Financial Policy

5.7 The government has initiated and implemented various activities for the
reform and development of banking, capital market and other financial sectors. It
will encourage instruments like Wage Earners’ Bond, venture capital, treasury
bond including a vibrant bond market. The government also plans to introduce a
number of other reforms, such as amending the Bank Company Act so that
amalgamation, merger and absorption of banks can be legally processed and
functions of holding companies and subsidiary companies can be modernized,
taking stern measures against the willful defaulters of bank loans, and bringing
down the bank interest rates to single digits to make our industries and businesses

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 33

more competitive. Further, the government will take effective measures to
encourage investors to collect long term finance from the capital market. Under
the supervision of Bangladesh Bank, a total of Tk. 856 crore has been released
under the incentive scheme for reuse on a revolving basis for the protection of
small investors’ interest. Moreover, the Central Database for Large Credit
(CDLC) has been established for close monitoring of large loans and
strengthening the monitoring system of banks and financial institutions. Again,
the drafting of the ‘National Financial Inclusion Strategy, Bangladesh’ is in its
final stage, whose implementation will accelerate the pace of financial inclusion.

External Sector
5.8 Bearing in mind the reality of market access loss after 2027 in the
context of LDC graduation the government is preparing to strengthen the
competitive edge through diversification of export basket and providing
incentives to expand exports. For example, incentive package has been offered to
boost exports of readymade garments (1 percent for exports to traditional
markets, and 4 percent for exports to non-traditional markets). For boosting
remittance inflow, the government has offered 2% incentives on inward
remittances sent by expatriate Bangladeshis. To explore new and prospective
labour markets a survey (‘Demand Analysis of Employment of Bangladeshi
Migrant Workers in the International Labour Matket’) on labour markets in 53
countries has been completed that recommended for enhancing the scope of
overseas employment. Further, the Overseas Employment and Immigration
Management Rules, 2017 and the Wage Earners Welfare Board Act, 2018 have
been formulated to regulate migration costs, ensure transparency and
accountability of legitimate recruiting agents and ensure safe migration.

Skills Development
5.9 The government has been working for human resource development by
enhancing the skills of our growing population. To create jobs for the
unemployed youths and generate self-employment opportunity, skill
development trainings in different subjects are being provided to youths, one-
third of the total population in the country. Further, steps have been taken to train
15 lakh people under the Skills for Employment Investment Program. The
National Skills Development Authority has been established to undertake various
skills development activities of the government in a coordinated manner. There is
also a ‘National Human Resource Development Fund’ to finance the activities
for the development of human resources.
34 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh
Appendix-1 Trend of Socio Economic Indicators
Fiscal Year GDP GDP Import Export Remittances Foreign Exchange
(Crore taka) Growth (Million (Million (Million Exchange Rate Taka
(%) US$) US$) US$) Reserve per US$
(Million US$)
1995-96 1,89,933.5 - 6,931 3,882.4 1,217.06 2,038.6 40.84

1996-97 2,06,003.2 4.49 7,152 4,418.3 1,475.42 1,718.8 42.70

1997-98 2,26,929.9 5.18 7,520 5,161.2 1,525.43 1,739.2 45.46

1998-99 2,46,508.9 4.67 8,006 5,312.8 1,705.74 1,523.3 48.06

1999-00 2,68,503.3 5.29 8,374 5,752.2 1,949.32 1,602.1 50.31

2000-01 2,91,337.1 5.08 9,335 6,467.3 1,882.10 1,306.7 53.96

2001-02 3,14,280.4 3.83 8,540 5,986.1 2,501.13 1,582.9 57.43

2002-03 3,48,320.1 4.74 9,657.5 6,548.5 3,061.97 2,469.6 57.90

2003-04 3,83,293.9 5.24 10,903.2 7,603.0 3,371.97 2,7050. 58.94

2004-05 4,27,074.1 6.54 13,146.8 8,654.5 3,848.29 2,9300. 61.39

2005-06 4,82,337.0 6.67 14,746.4 10,526.2 4,802.41 3,483.8 67.08

2006-07 5,49,799.7 7.06 17,156.8 12,177.9 5,978.47 5,077.2 69.03

2007-08 6,28,682.2 6.01 21,629.0 14,110.8 7,914.78 6,148.8 68.60

2008-09 7,05,071.8 5.05 22,507.1 15,565.2 9,689.26 7,470.9 68.80

2009-10 7,97,538.7 5.57 23,738.4 16,204.7 10,987.4 10,749.7 69.18

2010-11 9,15,828.8 6.46 33,657.5 22,928.2 11,650.32 10,911.6 71.17

2011-12 10,55,2040. 6.52 35,516.3 24,302.0 12,843.43 10,364.4 79.10

2012-13 11,98,923.2 6.01 34,083.6 27,027.5 14,461.15 15,315.2 79.93

2013-14 13,43,674.4 6.06 40,616.4 30,186.6 14,228.3 21,508.0 77.72

2014-15 15,15,802.2 6.55 40,703.7 31,209.0 15,316.91 25,025.3 77.67

2015-16 17,32,863.7 7.11 43,122.5 34,257.2 14,931.2 30,168.2 78.30

2016-17 19,75,815.4 7.28 47,005.2 34,655.9 12,769.5 33,493.0 80.60
2017-18 22,50,479.3 7.86 58,865.3 36,668.2 14,981.7 32,943.5 83.70
P P P P P
2018-19 25,36,177.0 8.13 59,914.7 40,535.0 16,419.6 32,716.5 84.50
Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and Bangladesh Bank; P= Provisional

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 35

Appendix-2 Food Grains: Production and Import
(lac acres, lac M.tons)
Rice Wheat Others Total
Fiscal Year
Acres Production Import Acres Production Import Production Prodcution

2005-06 260.19 265.3 4.98 11.83 7.35 18.7 0.05 278.0

2006-07 261.16 273.18 6.95 9.88 7.37 16.35 0.05 284.0
2007-08 261.29 289.31 19.67 9.58 8.44 12.35 55.15 352.9
2008-09 278.72 313.17 5.73 9.75 8.49 23.24 25.44 347.1
2009-10 282.36 322.57 0.88 9.22 9.69 33.58 25.86 358.12
2010-11 284.89 335.42 15.54 9.23 9.72 35.96 15.51 360.65
2011-12 284.87 338.90 5.14 8.85 9.95 16.61 19.55 368.39
2012-13 292.28 338.33 0.26 10.29 12.55 17.15 21.78 372.66
2013-14 281.01 343.56 3.71 10.62 13.02 26.77 25.15 381.74
2014-15 282.09 347.10 14.9 10.79 13.48 38.41 23.61 384.19
2015-16 281.24 347.10 2.56 10.99 13.48 42.80 27.68 388.17
2016-17 271.84 338.06 1.33 10.26 13.12 56.06 35.16 386.34
2017-18 286.98 362.79 31.7 8.68 10.99 45.75 32.88 406.66
Source: Bangladesh Bureau Statistics; Bangladesh Economic Review, 2019, Finance Division.

36 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

Appendix-3 Sector-wise Expenditure
(Crore Taka)
Fiscal Year Public Local Education, Social Safet Fuel and Transport Agriculture Defense Interest Others Total
Service and Government ICT, Health and Welfare Energy and Payment Budget
Public Order Communication
and Safety
2000-01 5464 3749 8015 2384 2193 5188 2840 3406 4175 58 37,472
(14.6) (10.0) (21.4) (6.4) (5.9) (13.8) (7.60) (9.1) (11.1) (0.2)
2001-02 5,370 3,431 8,222 1,759 1,932 5,521 2,533 3,640 4,949 845 38,202
(14.1) (9.0) (21.5) (4.6) (5.1) (14.5) (6.6) (9.5) (13.0) (2.2)
2002-03 6,383 3,379 8,701 1,979 2,757 5,971 2,354 3,610 5,669 112 40,915
(15.6) (8.3) (21.3) (4.8) (6.7) (14.6) (5.8) (8.8) (13.9) (0.3)
2003-04 6,609 4,531 8,771 2449 3,758 5,163 2,564 3,879 5,769 1876 45,369
(14.6) (10.0) (19.3) (5.4) (8.3) (11.4) (5.7) (8.5) (12.7) (4.1)
2004-05 7,759 5,520 8,928 3066 3,912 6,625 3,930 4,506 6,842 667 51,755
(15.0) (10.7) (17.3) (5.9) (7.6) (12.8) (7.6) (8.7) (13.2) (1.3)
2005-06 8,611 5,265 11,519 2505 3,811 5,206 4,356 4,426 7,894 2,038 55,631
(15.5) (9.5) (20.7) (4.5) (6.9) (9.4) (7.8) (8.0) (14.2) (3.7)
2006-07 9,435 6,593 14,240 2979 2,888 5,305 4,949 6,319 10,508 934 64,150
(14.7) (10.3) (22.2) (4.6) (4.5) (8.3) (7.7) (9.9) (16.4) (1.5)
2007-08 12,752 6,154 15,464 4282 2,862 5,398 8,476 6,766 13,738 14,925 90,817
(14.0) (6.8) (17.0) (4.7) (3.2) (5.9) (9.3) (7.5) (15.1) (16.4)
2008-09 12,570 6,904 17,199 9258 2,550 4,378 9,560 7,156 15,358 4,383 89,316
(14.1) (7.7) (19.3) (10.4) (2.9) (4.9) (10.7) (8.0) (17.2) (4.9)
2009-10 14,832 8,460 22,175 8208 3,469 6,623 11,147 8,759 14,868 2,975 1,01,516
(14.6) (8.3) (21.8) (8.1) (3.4) (6.5) (11.0) (8.6) (14.6) (2.9)
2010-11 15,900 10,206 26,091 9053 7,233 7049 12,957 11,125 15,637 13,035 1,28,286
(12.4) (8.0) (20.3) (7.1) (5.6) (5.5) (10.1) (8.7) (12.2) (10.2)
2011-12 19,810 11,050 26,774 10322 7,969 9,455 14,671 12,230 20,351 19,810 1,52,442
(13.0) (7.2) (17.6) (6.8) (5.2) (6.2) (9.6) (8.0) (13.3) (13.0)
2012-13 17,603 14,147 29,833 11420 10,280 12,480 19,667 12,021 23,915 22,625 1,74,011
(10.1) (8.1) (17.1) (6.6) (5.9) (7.2) (11.3) (6.9) (13.7) (13.0)
2013-14 26,280 14,466 36,013 12,924 10,504 14,244 17,277 13,920 28,205 14,372 1,88,205
(14.0) (7.7) (19.01) (6.9) (5.4) (7.6) (9.2) (7.4) (15.0) (7.6)
2014-15 25,497 18329 40,729 11,152 9,359 19,407 15,971 17,587 30,973 19,862 2,08,866
(12.2) (8.8) (19.5) (5.3) (4.5) (9.3) (7.6) (8.4) (14.8) (9.5)
2015-16 31,694 18593 52,510 15,322 16,375 24,104 17,876 20,313 33,113 8,533 2,38,433
(13.3) (7.8) (22.0) (6.4) (6.8) (10.1) (7.5) (8.5) (13.9) (3.6)
2016-17 49,036 17,912 55,624 16,208 14,621 22,897 16,892 23,338 35,392 17,461 2,69,381
(18.2) (6.7) (20.7) (6.0) (5.4) (8.5) (6.3) (8.7) (13.1) (6.5)
2017-18 47,490 21,574 66,194 20,523 28,561 38,292 19,539 21,149 47,765 16,772 3,21,868
(14.8) (6.7) (20.6) (6.4) (8.9) (11.9) (6.1) (6.6) (13.0) (5.2)
Source: Finance Division, Ministry of Finance (Figures in the bracket indicate percentage of total expenditure).

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 37

Appendix-4: Commitment and Disbursement of Foreign Assistance
(Million US$)
Opening Commitment Disbursement
Fiscal Year Pipe Line Grant Loan Total Grant Loan Total
1998-99 4895.53 861.88 1786.64 2648.52 669.35 866.71 1536.06
1999-00 5979.58 619.25 855.78 1475.03 726.08 861.87 1587.95
2000-01 5752.27 937.73 1115.11 2052.84 504.15 864.66 1368.80
2001-02 8557.96 401.77 476.98 878.74 478.81 963.23 1442.23
2002-03 5450.04 383.30 1309.27 1692.57 510.14 1074.88 1585.02
2003-04 5738.11 886.78 1036.30 1923.08 338.45 694.98 1033.43
2004-05 6911.06 302.92 1277.80 1580.71 244.23 1244.22 1488.45
2005-06 6694.542 628.381 1158.979 1787.360 500.543 1067.093 1567.636
2006-07 6759.480 728.493 1527.635 2256.128 590.171 1040.404 1630.575
2007-08 7288.340 961.881 1880.563 2842.444 658.115 1403.399 2061.514
2008-09 8682.135 423.257 2021.060 2444.317 657.805 1189.500 1847.305
2009-10 8861.288 555.147 2428.530 2983.677 639.171 1588.603 2227.774
2010-11 9429.360 830.460 5138.166 5968.626 745.100 1031.642 1776.742
2011-12 14151.983 1441.375 3323.150 4764.525 587.996 1538.482 2126.478
2012-13 15436.142 554.530 5300.077 5854.607 726.274 2084.726 2811.000
2013-14 16637.698 497.817 5346.400 5844.217 680.729 2403.659 3084.388
2014-15 18174.791 493.656 4764.809 5258.465 570.825 2472.247 3043.072
2015-16 18693.624 544.918 6503.157 7048.075 530.555 3033.031 3563.586
2016-17 22067.919 404.528 17557.322 17961.850 459.350 3217.941 3677.291
2017-18 35748.763 705.107 14,269.816 14,974.923 382.422 5,986.953 6,369.375
2018-19p 44,529.211 1,547.04 8,248.82 9,795.86 255.99 5,954.07 6,210.06
Source: Economic Relations Division; P = provisional

38 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh

Appendix-5 Debt Repayment

(Million US$)
Payment External
Fiscal Debt
Year Amortization Interest Total
Outstanding
2001-02 435.298 150.962 586.26 15885.163
2002-03 451.906 156.084 607.990 16953.098
2003-04 423.095 165.562 588.657 17953.255
2004-05 472.598 182.699 655.288 18415.848
2005-06 501.954 176.110 678.064 18602.478
2006-07 540.165 181.770 721.935 19354.805
2007-08 585.736 184.472 770.208 20265.809
2008-09 655.597 199.795 855.392 20858.752
2009-10 685.740 189.840 875.580 20335.761
2010-11 729.220 200.150 929.370 22085.522
2011-12 769.900 196.560 966.460 22095.172
2012-13 908.160 197.540 1105.700 22381.377
2013-14 1088.493 205.943 1294.463 24387.907
2014-15 909.456 187.730 1097.186 23901.033
2015-16 848.475 202.098 1050.573 26305.705
2016-17 894.097 229.173 1123.270 28337.366
2017-18 1110.41 298.78 1409.19 33,511.834
P
2018-19 1178.50 386.72 1565.22 37,712.34
Source: Economic Relations Division; P = Provisional

Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh | 39

Appendix-6 Revenue Earnings
(Billion taka)
Total Tax NBR Tax Non-Tax
Fiscal Year Non-NBR Tax Total Revenue
Revenue Revenue Revenue
1 2=3+4 3 4 5 6=2+5
1998-99 153 144 9 43 196
(6.21) (5.85) (1.74) (7.95)
1999-00 158 149 10 49 208
(5.90) (5.54) (1.84) (7.74)
2000-01 191 181 10 46 237
(6.57) (6.22) (1.56) (8.13)
2001-02 210 199 11 67 277
(6.69) (6.34) (2.13) (8.82)
2002-03 243 232 11 62 305
(6.98) (6.66) (1.78) (8.76)
2003-04 270 258 12 65 335
(7.04) (6.73) (1.70) (8.74)
2004-05 305 291 14 69 374
(7.14) (6.81) (1.62) (8.76)
2005-06 340 324 15 86 426
(7.05) (6.72) (1.78) (8.83)
2006-07 380 362 19 105 485
(6.91) (6.58) (1.91) (8.82)
2007-08 481 458 23 113 594
(7.65) (7.29) (1.80) (9.45)
2008-09 529 502 27 117 646
(7.50) (7.12) (1.66) (9.16)
2009-10 625 597 27 134 759
(7.84) (7.49) (1.68) (9.52)
2010-11 795 762 33 134 929
(8.68) (8.32) (1.46) (10.14)
2011-12 952 916 36 195 1147
(9.02) (8.68) (1.85) (10.87)
2012-13 1074 1033 41 207 1281
(8.96) (8.62) (1.72) (10.69)
2013-14 1160 1114 46 250 1416
(8.63) (8.29) (1.85) (10.48)
2014-15 1288 1239 48 178 1466
(8.5) (8.2) (1.1) (9.6)
2015-16 1519 1462 56 210 1729
(8.8) (8.4) (1.21) (10.01)
2016-17 1779 1716 63 233 2012
(9.0) (8.7) (1.2) (10.2)
2017-18 1943 1871 72 222 2165
(8.6) (8.3) (1.0) (9.6)
Source: Finance Division, Ministry of Finance; p=provisional; (Figures in the bracket indicate percentage of GDP)

40 | Socioeconomic Progress and Recent Macroeconomic Developments in Bangladesh