The country's gross domestic product (GDP) has reached $411 billion in the fiscal year 2020-21, up 15.70 percent from previous FY’s, thanks to a new base year adopted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Planning Minister MA Mannan disclosed the information while briefing reporters after attending a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday.
However, BBS now calculates the country’s economy in order for the new base year 2015-16 (FY 2016) replacing the existing FY 2006.
The Planning Minister said according to the new base year, Bangladesh was an economy of Tk 34,840 billion in current prices in FY21 against Tk 30,111 billion as per the previous base year.
Besides, per capita income also rose to $2,554 in FY21 as per the new calculation, which was $2,227 as per the old one, he added.
The size of the country’s economy is huge, and the new base year will reflect it, he mentioned.
Mannan said a real scenario would allow the government to make more informed policy decisions.
However, the growth rate of GDP stood at 5.43 percent.
The size of the agriculture, industry and services sectors has expanded as per the new base year.
The new base year uses data on about 144 crops while computing the contribution of the agriculture sector to the GDP, which was 124 crops in the previous base year.
The gross value addition by the agriculture sector rose to Tk 4,061 billion in current prices in the last fiscal year, up from Tk 3,846 billion in the old estimate, the BBS document showed.
The industrial sector saw the addition of the data on the outputs of Ashuganj Power Station Company, North-West Power Generation Company, Rural Power Company, cold storage for food preservation, RajshahiWasa, and the ship-breaking industry.
In the new base year, the gross value addition of the sector stood at Tk 11,362 billion in FY21 while it was Tk 8,944 billion as per the old base year.
The BBS also carried out surveys to cover the contribution of various new services.
The data about growing ride-sharing services, privately run motor vehicles, national flag carrier Biman, private carriers US-Bangla and Novoair, private helicopter services, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, motion pictures, cinema halls, new banks, mobile financial services, agent banking, and private healthcare services were included.
The sector's value addition increased to Tk 18,098 billion in FY21 compared to Tk 16,144 billion from the old base year.
In a positive development, the investment-GDP ratio rose to 30.76 percent in the last fiscal year compared to 29.92 percent in the old base year of 2005-06.