ADB lauds Bangladesh growth performance in 2021

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has commended Bangladesh for its remarkable GDP growth rate of 6.9 percent in 2021 despite starting from a higher base while other countries in the region contracted during this period. ADB outlook for Bangladesh predicts a growth rate of 7.0 percent in 2022 and 7.4 percent in 2023. Among larger South Asian economies, Bangladesh will closely follow India in terms of strong growth performance next year. Launching the Asian Development Outlook 2022 on Wednesday, Country Director Edimon Ginting said that the strong rebound shown by Bangladesh was supported by recovery in external trade, effective and swift implementation of supportive fiscal measures to tackle the Covid 19 pandemic and a sharp rise in remittances. 
In 2021, prudent macroeconomic management resulted in a moderated level of inflation at 5.6 percent from 5.7 percent a year earlier. Inflation is projected to edge up to 6.0 percent in fiscal year 2022 due to rise in global food and fuel prices, impact of Russian invasion of Ukraine, and rise in domestic administered prices of diesel and kerosene. However, to ensure inclusive growth Bangladesh will require increased spending on education, health and social protection. To generate enough funds for these priorities, significant effort is needed to improve domestic resource mobilisation, says ADB.