Featured India and Pakistan are now poorer than Bangladesh

[Sayfullah]

We might be poorer but at least we aren’t a Indian satellite state

 

[Avicenna]

The ultimate metric is when people like my family choose to stay rather than leave for the West.

Until then, keep on working.

 

[Blacklight]

To: All the Bangladeshis on this forum

Dear Brothers,

We wish you the very best, not only economically, but politically as well. It is not only our desire to see you grow, but succeed and prosper as well.

Best Regards on behalf of every Pakistani.


@Homo Sapiens @Michael Corleone @Avicenna @Maira La @Black_cats @Destranator @UKBengali and others

 

[SpaceMan18]

We might be poorer but at least we aren’t a Indian satellite state

It's almost like you don't even know the internal matters of BD , Hasina isn't even an full Indian slave lol. If we were an Indian satellite state we would be already operating Tejas fighters

To: All the Bangladeshis on this forum

Dear Brothers,

We wish you the very best, not only economically, but politically as well. It is not only our desire to see you grow, but succeed and prosper as well.

Best Regards on behalf of every Pakistani.


@Homo Sapiens @Michael Corleone @Avicenna @Maira La @Black_cats @Destranator @UKBengali and others

Same to you my man , idk why brown people fight on each other lol

The ultimate metric is when people like my family choose to stay rather than leave for the West.

Until then, keep on working.

FACTS lol , If BD became like South Korea or even Taiwan trust me people would stay and heck even I would be proud to say I'm from Bangladesh

 

[Blacklight]

Same to you my man , idk why brown people fight on each other lol

They know, gora cant match our caliber

 

[leonblack08]

Whatever floats your boat mate. Deep down every Bangladeshi knows that they are a mere vassal state of India and nothing more.

At the global level, Bangladesh has as much importance as Chad or Paraguay. So while sitting on the kids table, you have every right to make yourself feel important.

Really? I didn't know that. Poor me. Thanks for the enlightenment.

@Black_cats

Why man?

You know how these threads end up.

Great for Bangladesh but a job long way to go.

All of South Asia has a LONG way to go.

Some like to set fire and watch the world burn I mean literally.

BBS' hard work despite the pandemic has paid off.

Do you think they got paid overtime?

 

[PradoTLC]

South Asia Should Pay Attention to Its Standout Star

India and Pakistan have much to learn from their once-poorer neighbor Bangladesh.

By Mihir Sharma

May 31, 2021, 7:30 PM EDTCorrected May 31, 2021, 11:29 PM EDT

South Asia Should Pay Attention to Its Standout Star

India and Pakistan have much to learn from their once-poorer neighbor Bangladesh.

www.bloomberg.com

Bangladeshi women have been key to the country’s rise.

Photographer: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images

Half a century ago, in March 1971, Bangladesh’s founders declared their independence from richer and more powerful Pakistan. The country was born amid famine and war; millions fled to India or were killed by Pakistani soldiers. To the Pakistani military’s American backers, the new country seemed destined to fail: Henry Kissinger, then Secretary of State, famously called it a “basketcase.” George Harrison and Ravi Shankar organized the first-ever super-benefit to raise money for UNICEF relief work in the struggling country.

This month, Bangladesh’s Cabinet Secretary told reporters that GDP per capita had grown by 9% over the past year, rising to $2,227. Pakistan’s per capita income, meanwhile, is $1,543. In 1971, Pakistan was 70% richer than Bangladesh; today, Bangladesh is 45% richer than Pakistan. One Pakistani economist glumly pointed out that “it is in the realm of possibility that we could be seeking aid from Bangladesh in 2030.”

India — eternally confident about being the only South Asian economy that matters — now must grapple with the fact that it, too, is poorer than Bangladesh in per capita terms. India’s per capita income in 2020-21 was a mere $1,947.

Don’t hold your breath expecting India to acknowledge Bangladesh’s success: Right-wing figures in India are convinced Bangladesh is so destitute that illegal migrants from there are overrunning the border. In reality, Bangladesh is far richer than the depressed Indian states where Hindu nationalist politicians have been railing against Bangladeshi “termites.” It’s as if Mississippi were fretting about illegal immigration from Canada.

Perhaps that explains why Indian social media exploded with indignation and denial when the GDP numbers were announced. Meanwhile, Bangladeshi media have made little of the comparison. That’s the sort of self-confidence that comes from growing consistently.


Bangladesh’s growth rests on three pillars: exports, social progress and fiscal prudence. Between 2011 and 2019, Bangladesh’s exports grew at 8.6% every year, compared to the world average of 0.4%. The success is largely due to the country’s relentless focus on products, such as apparel, in which it possesses a comparative advantage.

Meanwhile, the share of Bangladeshi women in the labor force has consistently grown, unlike in India and Pakistan, where it has decreased. And Bangladesh has maintained a public debt-to-GDP ratio between 30% and 40%. India and Pakistan will both emerge from the pandemic with public debt close to 90% of GDP. Fiscal restraint has allowed Bangladesh’s private sector to borrow and invest.

Bangladesh’s success brings its own set of problems. For one, its exports benefit from the country’s participation in various mechanisms that allow tariff-free access to developed economies, such as the U.S.’s Generalized System of Preferences. These groupings are only open to the world’s least developed countries. Thanks to its growth, Bangladesh will likely have to give up these privileges by 2026 or so.

As its economy matures, its comparative advantages will also change. Like Vietnam and others, it will then have to shift emphasis away from garments to higher-value exports. The transition will test Bangladesh as it has those other nations.

The government needs a strategy for the next decade that focuses on new forms of global integration and on a continued transformation of the economy. The smartest thing to do would be to retain access to the developed world’s markets by signing free-trade agreements. Work has started on an FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to Bangladeshi officials, but there’s a lot more to be done.

Once again, Bangladesh should benchmark itself against Vietnam, which is not only part of the China-centric Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but also signed an FTA with the European Union in 2019. Transforming the terms of Bangladesh’s trade won’t be easy, which is why the effort needs to start now. Dhaka will have to beef up its negotiating capacity in particular: It doesn’teven have a dedicated set of trade negotiators in its commerce ministry.

Nevertheless, the past 50 years have shown how unwise it is to bet against Bangladesh. In 1971, success seemed well beyond a long shot. Today, the country’s 160 million-plus people, packed into a fertile delta that’s more densely populated than the Vatican City, seem destined to be South Asia’s standout success.

(Correction in second paragraph to remove repetition of the word “Pakistan.”)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story:
Mihir Sharma at msharma131@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Nisid Hajari at nhajari@bloomberg.net

Mihir Swarup Sharma is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi and head of its Economy and Growth Programme. He is the author of "Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy," and co-editor of "What the Economy Needs Now."

Read more opinionFollow @mihirssharma on Twitter

not really

The Structural reforms Pakistan is undertaking with address it's deep economic issues once and for all...

no disrespect to BD... but you are hardly a model we would follow..

Our own model is fine is much better than BD, with focus on agriculture, textiles, tourism, light manufacturing, education and health and regional economic security,


Pakistan people and economy is much more dynamic than BD....people are smart and talented. What they lack is focus, organization and a consistent work ethic. Things the current policy planners are working to address these issues.

 

[mb444]

And by this definition (of GDP per capita) Sri Lanka and Bhutan are the richest countries in south asia.

Selected Countries and Economies
Country
Most Recent Year
Most Recent Value

South Asia
2019
1,956.6

South Asia
Country
Most Recent Year
Most Recent Value

Afghanistan
2019
507.1

Bangladesh
2019
1,855.7

Bhutan
2019
3,316.2

India
2019
2,099.6

Maldives
2019
10,626.5

Nepal
2019
1,071.1

Pakistan
2019
1,284.7

Sri Lanka
2019
3,853.1

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=8S

Per capita they are....not sure why you are laughing ...

 

[Destranator]

We might be poorer but at least we aren’t a Indian satellite state

The term "satellite state" is dumb but if a country were to be a satellite of India, it would be Pakistan. It is the only country where people are paranoid about and handicapped by India 24/7.

Per capita they are....not sure why you are laughing ...

He is very happy about their progress.

 

[siegecrossbow]

Maldives is the richest. You don't even understand your own post? Were you accidentally dropped as a baby or is it normal Indian IQ?

 

[Death Professor]

Bangladesh’s success brings its own set of problems. For one, its exports benefit from the country’s participation in various mechanisms that allow tariff-free access to developed economies, such as the U.S.’s Generalized System of Preferences. These groupings are only open to the world’s least developed countries. Thanks to its growth, Bangladesh will likely have to give up these privileges by 2026 or so.

As its economy matures, its comparative advantages will also change. Like Vietnam and others, it will then have to shift emphasis away from garments to higher-value exports. The transition will test Bangladesh as it has those other nations.

Like in a thread before, the nationalist Banglu's will come for my skin. Ignoring the main problem and brushing, it like it's nothing. YOU ARE ENJOYING THE LDC STATUS. Though, you have managed your debt problem quite well, and credit is given where it's due. But the problem still remains, the exports are mainly on the back of textiles, once you graduate from LDC, then we will see the actual growth and numbers. In the mean time, phudknay ki zrorat nahi hai, relax and enjoy while it lasts.

 

[El Sidd]

Destination reached.

The country formed by a Pakistani politician has achieved he ultimate goal of its creation.

It should be abolished now

 

[Death Professor]

And yes there is a lesson for us too. We are also heavily dependent on textile exports and it's bad thing. Sure, for right now, it is good, as the labor in Bangladesh gets more costlier. As they graduate from LDC status, as Afghanistan becomes more peaceful, we can surely increase our textile exports to the west, because it would take lesser time and cost for them(West). I don't know the current situation of Pakistan, Iran, Turkey rail, but the future has a lot to offer to us. It's just that we have to grab the opportunity when it's presents, itself.

Also we have to be reasonable about the other exports. What else we can offer? Fruits, vegetable, sure. But we have to focus on rare earth metals and minerals, add value to them. I have see a rise in pink salt export, but we have to do better marketing. We have abundance of beautiful, precious gems and stones. Chip manufacturing, mobile manufacturing though good for internal consumption. There won't come any time where we are becoming competitive with China/ Vietnam in such technologies. It takes too much RnD, and FDI to make it possible. So we have to get out of that delusion that we will become worlds number one chip manufacturer or mobile manufacturer. If Bangladeshi's want to have that delusion sure they can keep on dreaming that they will suddenly change from a textile powerhouse to mobile powerhouse, while Vietnam, China and even India are still present.

 

[Syed1.]

Congrats to BD.


However, if I'm very honest BD has gone forward at a normal pace but we have gone backwards with nitrous engaged. In 2008 Pakistan was ahead of BD in most metrics and even better than India in a few, however the last 10 years of "democracy" have really damaged us. Only now we have turned the corner.

Inshallah with 10-15 years of PTI rule Pakistan will take its rightful place as the most developed economy of South Asia.

 

[lightoftruth]

Trillion dollar economy means shit if people have to use the beach for nature calls

Per capita growth means shit if half of the country is swamped every year.