The World Bank has lowered Bangladesh’s economic growth projection to 4.1 per cent in the current fiscal year (FY) 2024-25, according to a report.
In June last year, the global lender predicted the gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.7 per cent, the January 2025 edition Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report of the World Bank, released on Thursday night, showed.
The political turmoil in mid-2024 and defoliated Investors’ confidence are the key reasons for the lower growth forecast, the Banks GEP report said.
The World Bank, however, showed a better picture for the country’s economy in the next FY2026 as it projected a 5.4 per cent GDP growth.
The GEP report said amid the political uncertainty the country’s investment and industrial activities are expected to be subdued in the near term.
“Supply constraints, including energy shortages and import restrictions, weakened industrial activity and led to increased price pressures,” the report said.
“High inflation reduced the purchasing power of households, slowing services growth,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) showed an alarming picture for the economy as it said the GDP growth slowed to just 1.8 per cent in the July-September period, the slowest pace in 15 quarters or nearly four years.
A month ago, the Bangladesh government revised its GDP growth projection for FY25 downward to 5.2 per cent, from the initial estimate of 6.75 per cent.
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