Bangladesh's economy is on the brink of a historic milestone as it is set to exceed the fractional mark and contribute 1.01% to the global GDP by 2028, according to projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The insights were gleaned from the April 2024 edition of the IMF's World Economic Outlook database, which underwent recent updates in preparation for the annual meetings of the global lender with the World Bank.
According to the IMF report, Bangladesh's economy has already ascended to 0.84% of the global GDP as of the end of 2023, with an anticipated growth of 0.17 percentage points over the next five years.
This trajectory will propel Bangladesh to the 19th position among all countries in terms of economic size, marking a significant advancement from its current 25th position.
IMF projects that Bangladesh's GDP will increase by $245.52 billion over the next five years and is on its way to the 19th position, surpassing six countries.
Over the next five years, Bangladesh is expected to surpass the economies of Iran, Thailand, Australia, Poland, Taiwan, and Pakistan.
Bangladesh’s GDP is expected to reach $691.865 billion in 2028 - an increase of 55% from $446.349 billion in the last year.
The value of the economic activities will increase by 54% according to the calculation based on the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Dollar along with a projection of a 48% rise in per capita GDP.
Bangladesh’s economy saw a 6.03% growth in 2023 which will be lowered to 5.70% in 2024 but will rebound to 6.60% in 2025, said IMF.
The agency projected a 6.72% average GDP growth for Bangladesh in the next fiscal year while 7.10% in 2026, 7.20% in 2027 and 7% in 2028.
In 2023, the IMF assessed the global GDP at a value of 175.37 trillion Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Dollars.
PPP Dollars represent a distinct currency that accounts for the purchasing power of each currency, assigning weights equivalent to the total production capacity of each country.
The value of the total domestic production in China stood at 32.93 trillion PPP Dollars in 2023 – which is about 18.73% of the world GDP.
China secured first position among all countries considering its contribution to the global GDP.
United States secured second position with 27.36 trillion PPP dollars which is 15.56% of the world GDP.
India contributed the third largest 7.59% of the global GDP in 2023, which is equivalent to 13.34 trillion PPP Dollars.
The position of the top three countries will remain intact until 2029, according to the IMF.
Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Dominica
Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, St Kitts and Nevis and Vanuatu ranked bottom in 2023 with 0.001% of global GDP.
In 2023, the value of Bangladesh’s GDP stood at $1.48 trillion in 2023 and the economy secured 25th position – accounting for 0.85% of the global GDP, according to the IMF estimates.
Analysis of IMF’s time series data states Bangladesh’s place in the global economy was 44th in 1980 with a 0.376% share.
Bangladesh’s economy remained in the same place until 1997, although there were some fluctuations.
Surpassing Ukraine and Romania, Bangladesh secured the 42nd position in 1998.
The economy surpassed Portugal, Greece and Norway in 1999 which helped Bangladesh to secure the 39th position with a 0.426% contribution to the world GDP.
Bangladesh slid by one notch in 2004 but overcame three European economies Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden in 2009.
Contribution worth 0.51% of global GDP helped Bangladesh to rank 36th position that year.
In 2012, the position of two South American neighbours - Colombia and Venezuela, came below Bangladesh.
Bangladesh ranked the 32nd position in 2013, overtaking Vietnam.
In 2017, Bangladesh secured the 30th position overtaking Malaysia, contributing 0.68% of global GDP.
Bangladesh jumped to the 27th position in 2020 - leaving behind the Netherlands, Argentina and the Philippines.
In 2021, Bangladesh stood at the 25th position - surpassing Nigeria and Argentina.
