Dhaka, Oct 28 (V7N)- Bangladesh's GDP growth fell sharply to 3.91% in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023-24, largely due to weakened industrial output, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, GDP growth was significantly higher at 6.88%.

Factory production in the April-June quarter grew by just 3.98%, a steep drop from 10.16% a year earlier. Other key sectors, including agriculture and services, also showed sluggish performance. This quarter’s figures reflect the slowest economic expansion recorded for the entire fiscal year, amid one of the country’s most challenging economic periods in decades, driven by persistent inflation and declining foreign exchange reserves.

In its recent Bangladesh Development Update, the World Bank estimated a decline in the country’s real GDP growth to 5.2% for FY24, down from 5.8% in FY23. The World Bank also revised its growth forecast for FY25 to 4%, citing "significant uncertainties following recent political turmoil" and a lack of sufficient data.

The International Monetary Fund similarly adjusted its GDP growth forecast for Bangladesh, projecting 4.5% for FY24 due to ongoing political instability, labor unrest, and recent flooding, all of which have slowed economic activity. If realized, the FY25 growth rate would be the lowest since FY 2019-20, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought growth down to 3.45%.

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