Bangladesh’s economy will outshine that of Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore with its presence as the 30th largest economy in the world by 2024, according to a new report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), which said the country’s economy will further climb from the 40th place in 2020 to 26th and 25th position respectively by 2029 and 2034.
The report called ‘World Economic League Table 2020’ offers forecasts for 193 countries to 2034. With purchasing power parity (PPP)-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $5,028 in 2019, Bangladesh is a lower middle-income country, CEBR said.
Bangladesh’s economy performed well last year, recording a 7.8 per cent growth. The country recorded 7.9 per cent growth in 2018. The country’s population increased at a rate of 1 per cent per year since 2014. This has meant that per capita incomes have grown considerably in recent years. The government debt as a share of GDP rose to 34.6 per cent last year. This is up from 34 per cent in 2018.
Despite this increase, the public sector finances remain in good shape. The relatively low debt burden has provided the government with the fiscal headroom to operate a budget deficit of 4.8 per cent in 2019. The annual rate of GDP growth is forecast to slow to an average of 7.3 per cent between 2020 and 2025, according to the report. CEBR forecasts that the economy will remain at this impressive rate over the subsequent nine years.
China is predicted to become the world’s largest economy in 2033, overtaking the United States with growth boosted by technology. China’s population is forecast to peak at 1,416.4 mn in 2028 before falling to about 1 bn by 2100.
