Bangladesh's growth has slowed to 3.5%, its weakest pace in a generation outside the pandemic

For most of the 2010s Bangladesh was one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Real GDP grew by an average of 6.6% a year between 2010 and 2019, peaking at 7.9% in 2019.

7.9% → 3.5%

Annual GDP growth in 2019 and in 2025.

After dipping to 3.4% in the pandemic year 2020, growth bounced back to 6.9% in 2021 and 7.1% in 2022. It has slowed every year since: 5.8% in 2023, 4.2% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2025 — matching 1991, and slower than any year since then except 2020.

The slowdown coincides with stubbornly high inflation, pressure on foreign-exchange reserves and the political upheaval of 2024. It matters because growth is what creates jobs for the young people who join the labour force every year, and what pays for schools, clinics and protection against climate shocks.

Figures are for fiscal years, which in Bangladesh run from July to June.

Source: World Bank and OECD national accounts, from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, via World Bank WDI.