Bangladesh became lower-middle income nation much before 2021 deadline: Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said Bangladesh has graduated to the lower-middle income nation from a low-income country much before the deadline government had set.

Bangladesh had been progressing, he told reporters in Sylhet on Saturday, after inspecting the construction works of a tower at the city’s Shahi Eidgah.

He said World Bank already acknowledged Bangladesh as lower-middle income nation.

He hoped the United Nations too would declare Bangladesh as middle-income country at the relevant meeting to be held in 2018.

Muhith told reporters that the country would be regarded as lower-middle income country from now on.

On July 1, World Bank released revised indices, which showed Bangladesh has become a lower-middle income country with the Gross National Income per capita (GNI), joining those with annual incomes of $1,046 to $4,125.

According to data released by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on May 14, the per capita income in Bangladesh rose from $1,190 to $1,314.

The figure emerged from an analysis of data pertaining to the first nine months (July-March) of the 2014-15 financial year.

The revised figures show that the Sheikh Hasina government had fulfilled their electoral pledge of attaining middle- income status by 2021 with six years to go.