Bangladesh’s economic growth hits record 7.28% in FY17

The GDP growth and per capita income for FY2017 are slightly higher than previous estimates.

Bangladesh’s economic growth accelerated to 7.28 percent in the year to June 30, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said at a media briefing in Dhaka on Tuesday, citing final data.

Provisional data put the GDP growth at 7.24 percent for the year.

Per capita income rose from $1,602 to $1,610.

“In the final data, Bangladesh’s GDP stands at $249.86 billion, or nearly Tk 20.88 trillion. It took Bangladesh 34 years to reach a GDP of $100 billion. The remaining growth has been the achievement of the Sheikh Hasina administration,” he said.

Aside from Bangladesh, only Ethiopia and Cambodia have achieved a GDP growth rate over 7 percent, the planning minister said.

“The agriculture sector grew 2.90 percent, manufacturing grew 10.22 percent and the services sector grew 6.69 percent. Though we have aimed for 8 percent growth by 2020, we will reach it by 2019 at the current rate.”

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, or BBS had previously issued estimates of 7.24 percent GDP growth and per capita $1,602 in April.

According to the BBS, the growth rate in FY2016 was 7.11 percent, while the per capita income was $1,465.

The economy eventually passed 7 percent growth in FY2016 after being ‘stuck’ in the 6-7 percent range for nearly a decade. Last June, Bangladesh targeted a growth rate of 7.2 percent for the current fiscal year.