Bangladesh's per capita income $1,190

Bangladesh’s per capita income has touched $1,190, the government-run Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has said.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 21 May 2014, 02:13 PM
Updated : 21 May 2014, 06:11 PM

Taking 2005-06 as the base year, it has projected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow over six percent in the current fiscal.

The BBS presented the latest data at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), presided over by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday.

After the meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters that it was $1,180. His ministry in a media release also mentioned the same figure.

But BBS after a while confirmed that current per capita income has risen to $1,190 from $1044, prompting the ministry to send out another release in the evening mentioning the correct number.

BBS Director General Golam Mostafa Kamal also confirmed bdnews24.com by telephone that the income was $1,190.

“Our final account is $1,190. This is the real statistics. $1,190 will be mentioned as per capita income in our documents and on website.”

The BBS chief said he had no idea when asked why the planning minister would put the figure $10 less.

bdnews24.com’s calls to Mustafa Kamal’s phone went unanswered.

Earlier in the day, he had said everyone including the prime minster in the meeting expressed satisfaction over the latest data.

In 2012-13 fiscal year, Bangladesh’s annual per capita income rose to $1,044 from $923 after the base year was altered to 2005-06 from 1995-96.

“We hope our per capita income will cross $2,000 by 2021,” the planning minister said.

The government realised that it was not possible to attain 7.2 percent GDP growth, set for the current fiscal year, due to political unrest centered on the parliamentary elections held on Jan 5 this year.

It later lowered the growth target to 6.5 percent but different organisations, including the World Bank, said the rate would not reach even 6 percent.

Mstafa Kamal, however, said: “It has been announced at the ECNEC meeting that a 6.12 percent GDP growth will be attained in the current FY.”

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith will also mention in the national budget for the upcoming FY that GDP growth might reach 6.12 percent in the current FY, but the actual rate would be calculated and announced later.

The planning minister said: “Bangladesh is one of the few countries of the world where over 6 percent GDP was attained for the past five years.”

He said the country could implement 55 percent of the annual development programme in the first 10 months (July-April) of the current FY despite the ‘violent politics’.

In the budget for the current FY, it had been mentioned that growth for 2012-12 FY would be 6.03 percent, but at the final calculation made in February this year it stood at 5.94 percent.