WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BOP/G/14 
2 May 2007 
 (07-1818) 
Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions Original:   English 
  
 
CONSULTATIONS WITH BANGLADESH  
 
Basic Document Supplied by Bangladesh
 
  
1. Bangladesh economy has been showing a st eady economic growth and macro economic 
stability for the last five years despite adverse ecological conditions and political uncertainties;  
unexpected price hike of oil and essential imported commodities;  stiff competition for exports and 
decrease of foreign aid.  The GDP growth in FY 2005-06 was 6.71 per cent which is one of the highest growths in the last three decades.  Conc urrently, GDP per capita has risen from US$ 367 in 
1999/2000 to US$ 456 in 2005/ 06.  Sustained growth coupled with  increase in exports and remittance 
led to the gradual improvement in the fiscal balance and the balance-of-payment position.  
Furthermore, stronger state action and civic activism allowed for considerable improvement of social 
indicators.  As a result, Bangladesh graduated in 2004 from the low to the medium UN human development index category of countries,  ranking 137 (out of 177 countries).  
2. Notwithstanding its satisfactory rate of economic  growth in recent years, Bangladesh remains 
one of the poorest members of the WTO.  Faster growth is necessary to meet the United Nations' 
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.  Th e rise in the rate of inflation and increase in 
income inequality have been affecting the qualit y of life.  The country's economic growth and 
competitiveness continue to be hampered by, inter alia , inadequate investment in human capital and 
infrastructure bottlenecks, continuous decline of the world prices of export where the country has 
competitiveness and unexpected rise in world price of oil which will in turn affect the quality of life 
and increase the income disparity.  Additional challe nges are posed by insufficient diversification of 
export products and markets and limited number of items in the export basket. This has made our 
export vulnerable to the external  markets.  The huge population base (138.8 million in 2005 in an area 
of 147,570 sq. km) also put an enormous challe nge to the economy in reaching the development 
efforts to the targeted population and ensuring a balanced development.  Given the country's high 
incidence of poverty, its dense population, and its vu lnerability to natural disasters, including periodic 
flooding and cyclones, food security is a major po licy objective of the Government.  Bangladesh is a 
net food importing country and a large recipient of fo reign aid, a substantial portion of which is food 
grain. 
3. Dominance of agriculture in the country's ec onomic activities has been decreasing gradually 
contributing 21.77 per cent to GDP in FY 2005- 2006 down from 25.68 per cent a decade ago.  
However, the role of agriculture is still dominan t in the country's economic activities judging from its 
contribution in the country's total employment, accounting for about 51.69 per cent of the total employment.  Contribution of service and manufacturing sectors to the GDP is gradually increasing.  The shares of the industrial and service sectors at pr esent in GDP at respectively are 29.01 and 49.22 
(Annex).  
4. During the last five years both domestic saving and investment have continued to increase but 
at a very slow rate.  The rate of domestic savings and total investment reached at 20.3 and 
25.0 per cent respectively.  Marginal increase in sh ares of domestic saving and total investment in 
GDP is mainly because of increased participation of private sector.  The share of private investment WT/BOP/G/14 
Page 2  
 
  accounts for 75 per cent in 2005-06.  Bangladesh has been increasingly beco ming an attractive and 
competitive destination of Foreign Direct Investme nt (FDI) due to introducti on and implementation of 
pro-industrialization and investment-friendly econo mic policies and strategies by the government.  
5. During the last five years Government expe nditure continued to increase which has been 
increasing the budget deficit.  To finance budget defic it, the Government has been giving emphasis on 
concessionary foreign loans instead of mobilizi ng loan domestically and strengthening revenue 
collection programmes through the reforms of revenue  collection management and policies.  As a 
result, National Board of Revenue (NBR) collected a revenue worth of Tk. 33,986.81 crore, which is 
13.56 per cent higher than the revenue collection of  the previous fiscal year, and the revenue-GDP 
ratio increased slightly from 10.57 per cent in 2004- 2005 to 10.78 per cent in 2005-06.  On the other 
hand expenditure-GDP ratio declined slightly. In FY 2005-06 it stood at 14.70 per cent which was 
15.10 per cent in FY 2004-05.  
6. The Government of Bangladesh has been c ontinuing its trade liberalization programme, 
structural reforms and privatization initiatives since mid-eighties.  To further liberalize the country's 
import regime, the Government has introduced a fou r-tier tariff structure (0, 6, 13 and 25) with 
maximum tariffs at 25 per cent in the current fiscal year.  Import regime has also been made more 
liberal by bringing down the number of restrict ed products.  To better protect the external 
competitiveness of the Taka and to enhance res ilience of the economy in responding to shocks, 
Bangladesh formally stepped over to market base d exchange rate for the Taka from 31 May 2003, 
doing away with the pre-announced rate band for US dollar transactions with banks.  WT/BOP/G/14 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Table 1:  Some Selected Macroeconomic Indicators 
 
  1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
Current GDP at factor 
prices ( in billion Taka) 2,370.86 2,535.46 2,732.01 3,005.80 3,329.73 3707.1 4161.6 
Constant GDP at factor 
cost (In billion Taka 
1995/96 prices) 2,049.28 2,157.35 2,252.61 2,371.01 2,519.68 2669.7 2849.0 
GDP Growth at Constant 
price 5.94 5.27 4.42 5.26 6.3 6.0 6.7 
Per Capita GDP (US$) 368 362 361 389 418  441 456 
Inflation (annual 
average) 2.79 1.94 2.79 4.38 5.83 6.48 7.16 
Saving and investment 
(as % of GDP)        
Domestic saving 17.90 18.00 18.16 18.21 19.53 20.10 20.30 
Gross investment 23.02 23.09 23.15 23.41 24.00 24.5 25.00 
Out of this         
Public 7.41 7.25 6.37 6.20 6.2 6.2 6.3 
Private 15.61 15.84 16.78 17.21 17.83 18.3 18.7 
Central government 
budget (% of GDP)        
Total expenditure 14.54 14.75 14.92 14.61 14.8 15.0 14.70 
Current expenditure 7.67 8.10 8.31 8.42 8.5 9.0 8.8 
Annual 
development  programme 6.42 6.27 5.51 5.62 5.7 5.85 6.2 
Other capital and 
net  lending 0.44 0.38 1.10 0.56 0.6 0.5 0.7 
Total revenue, of which 8.47 9.60 10.21 10.35 10.6 10.57 10.78 
Tax Revenue 6.78 7.80 7.81 8.30 8.5 8.6 8.7 
Non-tax revenues 1.69 1.80 2.40 2.05 2.1 2.0 2.1 
Overall budget balance        
 Excluding grants -6.10 -5.10 -4.70 -4.20 -4.2 -4.4 -3.9 
 Including grants -4.50 -4.10 -3.70 -3.40 -3.4 -3.7 -3.3 
Domestic financing 2.9 2.80 2.7 1.3 2.2 1.8 2.2 
Foreign financing 2.50 2.00 2.10 2.30 2.4 2.4 1.9 
Medium and long-term 
external debt (US$ million) 16,211 15,074 16,276 17,411 18,511  18,777 18,972 
Exports f.o.b.( US$ 
million) 5,752 6, 467 5,986 6,548 7,603 8,654 10526.16 
 
Growth 8.27 12.43 -7.44 9.39 16.10 13.83 21.63 
Imports c.i.f. (US$ million) 8,374 9,335 8,540 9,658 10,903 13,146.70 
 14,746.40 
 
Growth 4.60 11.50 -8.50 13.10 12.9 20.58 12.17 
Trade- GDP ratio (% of GDP) 29.98 33.63 30.54 31.22 32.76 36.33 40.8 
Population (million) 128.10 130. 03 131.60 133.40 135. 20 137.0 138.8 
Source :  Bangladesh Economic Review , 2006 (Pages 20, 225, 226, 230). 
 
7. Dependence of economic activities on external tr ade continued to increase with gradual rise 
of trade-GDP ratio during last five years. Read ymade garment continues to dominate export sector, 
contributing about 75 per cent of the country's total export earnings (Table 2).   WT/BOP/G/14 
Page 4  
 
  Table 2:  Export Growth and Composition 
Total Export 
(million US$) % of Total Export Growth Rate (%) Commodity 
Classification 
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
1. Primary commodities, 
    of which 553.36 648.29 772.70 7.28 7. 49 7.34 19.62 17.16 19.19 
 a) Frozen food 390.25 420.74 459. 11 5.13 4.86 4.36 21.27 7.81 9.12 
 b) Tea 15.81 15.84 11.89 0. 21 0.18 0.11 2.20 0.19 24.98 
 c) Agricultural products 41.11 82. 47 105.40 0.54 0.95 1.00 61.53 100.61 27.80 
 d. Raw jute 79.70 96.19 148.27 1.05 1.11 1.41 (3.35) 20.69 54.14 
 e. Others 26.49 33.05 48.03 0.35 0.39 0.46 52.24 24.76 45.33 
2. Industrial goods, 
of which 7049.63 8006.23 9753.46 92.72 92. 51 92.66 15.84 13.57 21.82 
 a) Woven garments 3538.07 3598.20 4083.82 46.54 41.58 38.80 8.59 1.70 13.50 
 b) Knitwear 2148.02 2819.47 3816.98 28.25 32.58 36.26 29.88 31.26 35.38 
 c) Leather 211.41 220.93 257.27 2.78 2.55 2.44 10.55 4.50 16.45 
 d) Jute goods 246.45 307.48 361.03 3.24 3.55 3.43 (4.17) 24.76 17.42 
 e) Fertilizer & chemical 
products 121.46 197.18 205.58 1.60 2. 28 1.95 20.87 62.34 4.26 
 f) Footwear 68.30 87.55 95.44 0.90 1.01 0.91 46.57 28.18 9.01 
 g) Ceramic products 24.07 28.75 27.55 0.32 0.33 0.26 27.90 19.44 (4.17) 
 h) Engineering products 41.87 85. 02 111.02 0.55 0.98 1.05 224.32 103.06 30.58 
 i) Petroleum by products 37.02 35. 08 88.43 0.49 0.41 0.84 18.54 (5.24) 152.08 
 j) Handicrafts 4.20 5.12 4.30 0. 06 0.06 0.04 (29.41) 21.90 (16.02) 
 k) Others 608.76 621.45 702.04 8.00 7.18 6.67 19.52 2.08 12.97 
Total 7602.99 8654.52 10526.16 100.00 100.00 100.00 16.10 13.83 21.63 
Source : Bangladesh Economic Re view, 2006, (Page 72). 
* Figure in parenthesis in dicates negative number. 
 
8. Developed countries, particularly the USA and th e European Union, continue to be the main 
markets of Bangladesh's export products and perfo rmance of export in these countries has been robust 
since the 1990s.  During FY 2005-06, the total e xport to the USA was US$ 3,030.20 million which 
was 28.79 per cent of the total export of the country .  The second highest export earnings came from 
Germany which constituted 16.76 per cent of the total export earnings.  The principle commodities 
exported to these two countries are knitwear, woven garments and frozen food.  High dependence on 
these two markets make our exports vulner able to the external trade shocks. 
Table 3:  Major Export Destination 
 
(In million US$) 
Fiscal 
Year USA Germany UK France Belgium Italy Nether 
lands Canada Japan Others Total 
1999-00 2273.76 658.71 499.99 367.37 225.89 248.28 282.77 110.63 97.64 987.16 5752.20 
2000-01 2500.42 789.88 594.18 365.99 253.91 295.73 327.96 125.66 107.58 1105.99 6467.30 
2001-02 2218.79 681.44 647.96 413.69 211.39 262.31 283.36 109.85 96.13 1061.17 5986.09 
2002-03 2155.45 820.72 778.25 418.51 289.48 258.99 277.95 170.26 108.03 1270.80 6548.44 
2003-04 1966.58 1298.54 898.21 552.96 326.95 315.93 290.44 284.33 118.16 1550.89 7602.99 
2004-05  2418.67 1351.06 944.18 625.51 327.80 369.78 290.92 335.25 122.53 1868.82 8654.52 
2005-06 3030.20 1764.11 1048.62 677.50 359.20 425.75 327.40 421.46 137.78 2334.14 10526.16 
Source :  Bangladesh Economic Review, 2006 (Page 73)  and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). 
 
9. The country's import continued to increase in ta ndem with export (Table 4).  The total import 
payments (cif) amounted to US$ 14,746 million in  2005-06 which is 12.17 per cent higher than the 
previous year.  Analysis of imports reveals that crude petroleum (4.09%), cotton (5.03%), petroleum  WT/BOP/G/14 
 Page 5 
 
 
  products (9.49%), fer tilizer (2.31%), clinker (1.4 2%), yarn (3.40%) and capital machinery (9.89%) are 
the major items in the import baskets.  This im port of raw materials, petroleum and petroleum 
products, machinery for miscellaneous industry and in termediate goods indicates a transformation of 
the economy in the near future.  
Table 4:  Composition of Bangladesh's Import 
 (In million US$) 
Commodity 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
a) Principal primary commodities 1133 1339 1676 1853 
 Rice 211 144 262 117 
 Wheat 198 287 312 300 
 Oilseeds 64 73 86 90 
 Crude petroleum 267 252 350 604 
 Cotton 393 583 666 742 
b) Principal industrial goods 1548 1910 2662 3002 
 Edible oil 364 471 440 473 
 Petroleum products 620 770 1252 1400 
 Fertilizer 109 150 323 342 
 Clinker 144 139 170 210 
 Staple fiber 41 57 75 76 
 Yarn 270 323 393 501 
c) Capital machinery 548 729 1115 1458 
d) Other commodities (including EPZ) 6429 6925 7694 8433 
 Grand Total 9658 10903 13147 14746 
 Percentage change (%) 13.10 12.90 20.58 12.20 
Source :  Bangladesh Economic Review, 2006 (Page 74) an d Statistics Department , Bangladesh Bank.  
 
10. It appears from the country-wise import analysis that in terms of the value of total imported 
commodities China occupied the first position.  In FY 2005-06, 14.10 per cent of total imports came 
from China, 12.67 per cent from India and 5.76 per cent from Singapore.  The corresponding figures for FY 2004-05 were 12.49, 15.44 and 6.75 per cent respec tively for China, India and Singapore.  It is 
important to note that India was the top most importing country until 2004-05.  During FY 2005-
2006, import from China increased by 26.61 pe r cent, while import from India decreased by 
7.98 per cent which provides China the highest positi on in the import.  However, these trade figures 
do not reflect the substantial unofficial trade that  is believed to take pl ace, particularly with 
Bangladesh's large neighbour, India.  If this unofficial  trade is included, India would still be in the top 
most position.  Table 5 shows the country wise im port payments during FY 1999-00 to FY 2005-06. 
Table 5: Country-wise Import Payments 
                 
(In million US$) 
Fiscal 
Year India China Singa
pore Japan Hong 
Kong Taiwan South 
KoreaUSA Malaysia Others Total 
1999-00 833 568 701 685 455 386 319 325 108 3994 8374 
2000-01 1184 709 824 846 478 412 411 248 148 4075 9335 
2001-02 1019 878 871 655 441 312 346 261 145 3612 8540 
2002-03 1358 938 1000 605 433 328 333 223 169 4271 9658 
2003-04 1602 1198 911 552 433 377 420 226 255 4929 10903 
2004-05 2030 1642 888 559 565 439 426 329 276 5993 13147 
2005-06 1868 2079 849 651 625 473 489 345 332 7035 14746 
Source : Bangladesh Economic Review, 2006 (Page 76) and Bangladesh Bank.      
 
11. With the increase of import, the trade deficit of  the country continues to increase in the near 
future. Despite the widening of trade deficit, th e country's balance-of-payment situation improved 
gradually mainly because of increased work er remittance from abroad (Table 6).  WT/BOP/G/14 
Page 6  
 
  Table 6:  Number of Expatriate Bangladeshis and their Remittances 
 
Amount of remittance 
Fiscal Year No of employment 
abroad (000) Million US$ Percentage 
change (%) Crore Tk. Percentage 
change (%) 
1995-96 181 1217.06 1.62 4977.83 15.38 
1996-97 228 1475.40 21.23 6304.34 26.65 
1997-98R 243 1525.42 3.39 6950.83 10.25 
1998-99R 270 1705.74 11.82 8216.15 18.20 
1999-00 248 1949.32 14.28 9825.19 19.58 
2000-01R 213 1882.10 -3.45 101186.10 3.67 
2001-02 195 2501.13 32.89 14377.03 41.14 
2002-03 251 3061.97 22.42 17728.77 23.31 
2003-04R 277 3371.97 10.12 19869.86 12.08 
2004-05 250 3848.29 14.13 23694.06 19.25 
2005-06 291 4801.88 24.78 32210.90 35.95 
Source :  Bureau of Manpower, Employment & Training and Bangladesh Bank and Economic Review, 2006 (Page 37). 
 
12. An analysis of the balance-of-payment positi on reveals that the trade balance recorded a 
smaller deficit of US$ 2,879 million during FY 2005-06 compared to the deficit of US$ 3,297 million 
during FY 2004-05.  Despite large service deficit, the current account balance recorded a surplus of 
US$ 572 million during FY2005-06 against the defic it of US$ 557 million over the previous year.  
This has happened due to larger current transfers of  US$ 5,347 million in 2005 -06.  Despite a smaller 
decline in financial account of US$ 24 million,  the overall balance r ecorded a surplus of 
US$ 365 million during FY 2005-06 against the surplu s of US$ 67 million during FY 2004-05.  This 
was mainly due to an increase in current acc ount balance of US$ 572 million as well as capital 
account of US$ 242 million.  The overall balance is still far below the highest level it achieved in 
2002-03.  The balance of payment from FY 2002-03 to FY 2005-06 and trade balance and current 
account balance are shown in Table 7 and Graph 1, respectively.  
 
Graph 1: Trade Balance and Current Account Balance
-3500-3000-2500-2000-1500-1000-50005001000
2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Million US$
Trade Balance Current Account Balance
  WT/BOP/G/14 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Table 7:  Balance-of-Payment  Position of Bangladesh 
 
(In million US$) 
Particulars 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 (P) 
Trade Balance -1768 -2215 -2319 -3297 -2879 
Export f.o.b (including EPZ) 5929 6492 7521 8573 10422 
Import, c.i.f (including EPZ) -7697 -8707 -9840 -11870 -13301 
 
Services -499 -691 -874 -870 -1110 
  Receipts  865 887 924 1177 1296 
  Payments -1364 -1578 -1798 -2047 -2406 
 
Income -402 -358 -374 -980 -786 
Receipts 50 64 63 116 134 
Payments -452 -422 -437 -796 -920 
 Of which official interest payment -161 -167 -175 -203 -201 
 
Current transfers 2826 3440 3743 4290 5347 
Official 69 82 61 37 34 
Private 2757 3358 3682 4253 5313 
Of which workers remittance 2501 3062 3372 3848 4802 
 
Current account balance 157 176 176 -557 572 
 
Capital account 410 428 196 163 242 
Capital transfers 410 428 196 163 242 
 
Financial account 391 413 -31 784 -24 
(i) Direct investment 391 376 385 714 675 
(ii) Portfolio investment -6 2 6 0 32 
(iii) Other investment 6 35 -313 -16 -731 
 MLT loans 733 918 544 940 921 
 MLT authorization payments -435 -452 -397 -449 -489 
 Other long-term loans (net) -42 -20 -41 -46 -58 
 Other short term loans (net) 63 142 13 241 -256 
 Other assets -87 -125 -125 -182 -245 
 Trade credit (net) -253 -499 -321 -320 -805 
 Commercial Bank 27 71 14 -200 201 
   Assets -90 217 86 -91 56 
   Liabilities 117 -146 -72 -109 145 
Errors and omission -550 -202 -279 -323 -425 
Overall balance 408 815 171 67 365 
 Reserve assets -408 -815 -171 -67 -365 
 Bangladesh Bank -408 -815 -171 -67 -365 
 Assets -276 -887 -235 -225 -554 
 Liabilities -132 72 64 158 189 
Source :  Statistics Department, Ba ngladesh Bank and Bangladesh Economic Review, 2006 (Page 79). 
1/   Statistics of direct investment  are based on enterprise survey.   
P  Provisional            
 
13. The Import and Exports (Control) Act, 1950 empow ers the Government to  regulate the import 
and export of goods and services.  The Import Po licy Order (IPO), which governs the conditions for 
imports, is formulated under the authority of the 1950 Act.  The Import Policy Order 1997-2002 
contained a banned/restricted list of 122 items.  The subsequent Import Policy Order, 2003-2006 had 
brought down the number of restricted/ban items fr om 122 to 62.  The present import policy order i.e. 
Import Policy Order, 2006-2009 has further reduced the number of restricted/banned items to only 25.  
This clearly indicates the willingness of the country to liberalize its economy and integrate itself into 
the global trading system.  Presently, Bangladesh ma intains import restrictions under Balance of 
Payment on the following items (Table 8). WT/BOP/G/14 
Page 8  
 
  Table 8:  Items Restricted under BOP as of April 2007 
 
Srl H.S. 
heading 
number H.S. Code 
number Description of items Type of restriction 
1. 01.05 All H.S. 
Codes Chicks except for "parent stock" and "grand-parent 
stock" Banned 
2. 04.07 0407.00 Eggs except "hatching eggs" Banned 
8. 25.01 All H.S. 
Codes (a) Common salt, except table salt. 
(b) Table salt. 
(c) Industrial salt. (a) Importable subject to the 
conditions prescribed by the 
Government. 
(b) Importable only by foreign 
exchange earning hotels. 
(c) Importable by the Industry 
as raw material, uses of 
which is supervised by the 
Board of Investment.   
Source :  Import Policy Order, 2003-2006. 
 
14. The last consultation with the BOPs Committee wa s held on 29 November 2004.  During that 
period, the Government of Bangladesh maintained im port restrictions on eggs (HS Code), chicks, salt 
and cartons.  The BOPs Committe decided: 
"Members recognized that Bangladesh had, in 2002, been granted justification under the 
balance-of-payments provisions to restrict th e import of chicks, eggs, common salts and 
cartons until 2009.  On the understanding that Bangladesh would submit a timetable for the 
removal of the remaining restrictions by 2007, it was agreed that the next consultations would 
be held in the spring of 2007."   
 15. Since the last consultation with the BOPs  Committee, Bangladesh withdrew the import 
restriction on cartons in July 2005 on an aut onomous basis.  Presently, it only maintains import 
restrictions only on eggs, chicks and salt. 
16. It is to be mentioned that more than th ree million people are involved in the production, 
distribution and marketing of eggs, chicks and salt.   They are mainly small poor farmers, women and 
youth.  They totally depend on these items for thei r livelihood.  If the import restrictions on these 
items are withdrawn, it is apprehended that th ese poorer sections of the population will suffer 
enormously.  Yet, the Government of Bangladesh is highly committed to maintain its commitments 
with the WTO.  It has therefore decided to wit hdraw BOP restrictions un der GATT Article XVIII:B 
on the remaining items from 31 December 2008 in c onsistence with the decision of the Committee on 
BOPs.  It is expected that the next one year a nd eight months will provide a breathing time to these 
sections of population to adjust themselv es with the new competitive environment.  
17. It is to be further noted that due to wide prevalence of Avian Influenza/Bird flu in many 
countries, Bangladesh does not presently allow import of chicks, eggs and th e products derived from 
chicks and eggs from many countries on health grounds.  WT/BOP/G/14 
 Page 9 
 
 
  ANNEX  
Some Selected Macroeconomic Indicators  
 
  1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004-05 2005-06 
Current GDP at factor 
prices ( in billion Taka) 2,370.86 2,535.46 2,732.01 3,005.80 3,329.73 3707.1 4161.6
Constant GDP at factor 
cost (In billion Taka 
1995/96 prices) 2,049.28 2,157.35 2,252.61 2,371.01 2,519.68 2669.7 2849.0
GDP Growth at Constant 
price 5.94 5.27 4.42 5.26 6.3 6.0 6.7
Per Capita GDP (US$) 368 362 361 389 418  4.1 4.56
Inflation (annual average) 2. 79 1.94 2.79 4.38 5.83 6.48 7.16
Share of main sectors in 
GDP, at constant factor cost (%)    
Agriculture, forestry, and 
livestock 19.49 19.51 18.58 18. 22 17.97 17.27 16.91
Fishery 6.09 5.51 5. 40 5.25 5.11 5.00 4.86
Mining and quarrying 1.03 1. 07 1.07 1.09 1.11 1.14 1.16
Manufacturing 15.40 15.59 15.76 15.97 16.16 16.51 17.05
Electricity, gas/ water 1. 43 1.46 1.51 1.54 1.58 1.64 1.65
Construction 7.84 8.08 8.41 8.63 8.83 9.03 9.15
Wholesale and retail trade 13. 35 13.48 13.77 13.87 13.97 14.12 14.17
Hotels and restaurants 0. 63 0.64 0.66 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.69
Transport, storage, and 
communication 9.20 9.42 9.62 9. 76 9.79 9.98 10.10
Financial services 1.57 1.57 1.61 1.63 1.65 1.69 1.70
Real estate, renting and 
other business activities 8.88 8.71 8.63 8. 48 8.30 8.12 7.88
Public administration 
and defense 2.55 2.56 2..60 2.60 2.63 2.68 2.71
Education 2.20 2.24 2. 31 2.36 2.40 2.44 2.47
Health and social 
services 2.20 2.19 2.21 2. 21 2.22 2.25 2.26
Community, social, and 
personal services 8.13 7.96 7.87 7. 72 7.59 7.45 7.25
Total GDP 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Saving and investment (as 
% of GDP)    
Domestic saving 17.90 18. 00 18.16 18.21 19.53 20.10 20.30
Gross investment 23.02 23. 09 23.15 23.41 24.00 24.5 25.00
Out of this     
Public 7.41 7.25 6.37 6.20 6.2 6.2 6.3
Private 15.61 15.84 16. 78 17.21 17.83 18.3 18.7
Central government 
budget (% of GDP)    
Total expenditure 14.54 14. 75 14.92 14.61 14.8 15.0 14.70
Current expenditure 7.67 8.10 8.31 8.42 8.5 9.0 8.8
Annual development 
programme 6.42 6.27 5.51 5.62 5.7 5.85 6.2
Other capital and net 
lending 0.44 0.38 1.10 0.56 0.6 0.5 0.7
Total revenue, of which 8. 47 9.60 10.21 10.35 10.6 10.57 10.78
Tax Revenue 6.78 7.80 7.81 8.30 8.5 8.5 8.7
Non-tax revenues 1.69 1. 80 2.40 2.05 2.1 2.0 2.1WT/BOP/G/14 
Page 10  
 
    1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004-05 2005-06 
Overall budget balance    
    Excluding grants -6.10 -5.10 -4.70 -4.20 -4.2 -4.4 -3.9
Including grants -4.50 -4.10 -3.70 -3.40 -3.4 -3.7 -3.3
Domestic financing 2.9 2.80 2.7 1.3 2.2 1.8 2.2
Foreign financing 2.50 2.00 2.10 2.30 2.4 2.4 1.9
Medium and long-term 
external debt (US$ million) 16,211 15,074 16,276 17,411 18,511  18,777 18,972
Exports f.o.b.( US$ million) 
5,752 6,467 5,986 6,548 7,603 8,654 10526.16
Growth 8.27 12.43 -7.44 9.39 16.10 13.83 21.63
Imports c.i.f. (US$ million) 
8,374 9,335 8,540 9,658 10,903 13,146.70 14,746.40
Growth 4.60 11.50 -8.50 13.10 12.9 20.58 12.17
Trade- GDP ratio (% of 
GDP) 29.98 33.63 30.54 31. 22 32.76 36.33 40.8
Population (million) 128.10 130. 03 131.60 133.40 135.20 137.0 138.8
Source :  Bangladesh Economic Review , 2006 (Pages 20, 225, 226, 230). 
 
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