Bangladesh's GDP growth slows to 1.81% in Q1 of FY25

Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth declined significantly to 1.81 per cent in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year, compared to 6.04 per cent during the same period last year. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, this is the slowest expansion in over three and a half years as political turmoil affected economic activity in the country. In Bangladesh, the Financial Year starts from July 1.Sector-wise, the agricultural output rose just 0.16 percent in the first quarter, down from 0.35 percent growth a year earlier. The manufacturing sector growth sharply declined from 8.22 percent in the first quarter of FY24 to 2.13 percent in corresponding FY 25. The services sector, which accounts for a significant share of the country’s GDP, grew by 1.54 percent, compared to 5.07 percent a year earlier.
Bangladesh experienced political turmoil and law and order crisis during periods of July to September months last year which resulted in low business confidence. The latest GDP growth figure shows the true state of the economy and the BBS did not try to show a rosy picture, as was the case previously, according to economists.Political disruption was a major reason behind the tepid GDP growth as it affected all sectors, said Zahid Hussain, a former lead economist of the World Bank's Dhaka office. "After the political changeover, many businesspersons left the country, while others got caught up in trouble. Their factories and businesses couldn't function properly." This affected industrial production and business activities.