The latest report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Asia-Pacific region forecasts that Bangladesh's GDP growth rate in the current fiscal year will overtake that of China. The report also predicts that Bangladesh will be in second place, after Vietnam, in terms of GDP growth rate in Asia-Pacific in the next fiscal year. According to the IMF's Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific May 2023 report, Bangladesh is expected to surpass both China and India in terms of growth in 2024.
The existing policies implemented by the government over the last several years have been fruitful towards boosting the country’s economic growth. Despite infrastructure bottlenecks and shortage of power in industry, country's major macroeconomic indicators like the growth rate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remarkably increased in the last fiscal year. Reportedly, GDP growth rate in the country in the last fiscal year (FY22) reached a healthy 7.10 percent braving the shocks from the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As a result of the government’s various endeavours, the pace of the country’s remittance inflow remarkably increased over the last several years.
In order to sustain the country’s economic
growth and make it more inclusive, the
government must take initiatives
for creating more jobs both in the
public and private sectors
Country's major macroeconomic indicators like the growth rate of GDP too have remarkably increased and Bangladesh has set a target to achieve 8.51 percent GDP growth by 2025. However, in order to achieve the target of 8.51 per cent gross GDP growth rate by 2025 and make this growth more inclusive, the government must ensure job security and create job opportunities in the private sector We have reiterated our gratification over the robust growth our economy has achieved over the last decade. There is no denying that the country is speeding on the highway of economic growth, but beneath this optimistic picture there also lies the worrying side of it.
While the latest piece of news is encouraging, the issue of inclusive growth must not be ignored. The rich-poor divide has been growing over the past decade and the fruits of the robust growth have not trickled down to the masses at the expected level. Inequality of wealth between rich and poor has been on an ever-increasing trend. Hence , in order to sustain the country’s economic growth and make it more inclusive, the government must take initiatives for creating more jobs both in the public and private sectors.
In Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of students pass out of colleges and universities with higher degrees every year but many of them remain unemployed. Boosting private sector investment can change this scenario and make the growth more meaningful. In order to shove Bangladesh to the next level of growth, private investment has to be promoted further.
