Bangladesh’s economic growth slowed sharply in the final quarter of the last FY25, as a steep downturn in industrial-and service-sector activities dragged overall performance.
Data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) show that GDP growth at constant prices slipped to 3.35% in the April-June quarter (Q4), compared to 4.86% in Q3 and 4.48% in Q2.
The economy had shown signs of recovery in the middle of the fiscal year but lost momentum again as business and public life were disrupted by prolonged street protests.
Analysts said that even a strong rebound in agriculture could not offset the slump in the country’s two key growth engines – industry and services – underscoring the fragility of Bangladesh’s economic recovery amid political uncertainty.
Although the quarterly GDP growth had dipped sharply in Q1 (July-September) of FY25, it rebounded in the following two quarters before slowing again in the final quarter, according to official figures released recently.
During the same period of the previous fiscal year (FY24), Bangladesh’s economy grew by 2.14%, indicating that while annual growth improved slightly, momentum weakened toward the end of FY25.
Earlier provisional estimates from the BBS suggested that the country achieved an overall GDP growth of 3.97% in FY25.
Analysts noted that strong performance in the agriculture sector could not lift overall growth, as both the industrial and service sectors experienced a marked slowdown in the April-June quarter.
Industrial sector growth declined to 4.10% in Q4, compared to 6.91% in Q3.
Similarly, service sector growth fell sharply to 2.96%, from 5.88% in the previous quarter, the BBS data show.
The agriculture sector, by contrast, recorded its best performance of the fiscal year, expanding by 3.01% in Q4 – the highest among all four quarters.
According to the BBS, Bangladesh’s total GDP at current prices was estimated at Tk1,440,000 crore, while at constant prices it stood at Tk886,000 crore in FY25.