The Economist: Bangladesh’s GDP per capita now higher than Pakistan’s

[N.Siddiqui]

1. During 1947-1971, Pakistan used BD as a cash cow. Pakistan's economy was never the same after 1971 for a good reason.

Check Pakistan GDP growth during Musharraf era...it peaked 9% in the year 2004, around 6-7 % growth for many years.

And CPEC has yet to show maturity, infra project is not as good done unless 100% completed, like say a dam is 90% completed(Neelum Jhelum) but yet to start power projection and act as a water reservoir, many long terms plans for CPEC.

 

[Nilgiri]

bangler's census isn't even accurate (as pointed out by @Nilgiri). They probably have a pop over 300 million. pakistan still has a much higher GDP per capita than banglar

LOL, I wouldnt put it that high (300 mil) because that would seriously take north korean levels of data suppression.... but definitely 10 - 20 mil range higher (given what they exported illegally esp) than what they claim.

As for GDP per capita, esp for nominal it doesnt really matter tbh who is slightly more or less when its all so darn low and people are quibbling about a few 100 bucks more or less on a world liquidity reference (USD) that less than 1 percent of their populations actually handle/consume (i.e massive under-exposure)....combined with all the economy that is "hidden".

PPP matters intrinsically a lot more, at least its trying to actually objectively measure realised consumption. Also lot lot harder to hide parts of economy away from PPP given the ground consumption surveys ICP uses to correct with.

 

[UKBengali]

Check Pakistan GDP growth during Musharraf era...it peaked 9% in the year 2004, around 6-7 % growth for many years.

And CPEC has yet to shown maturity, infra project is not as good done unless 100% completed, like say a dam is 90% completed(Neelum Jhelum) but yet to start power projection and act as a water reservoir, many long terms plans for CPEC.

Dude, a few years is irrelevant. During the 2000s when Musharaff was in power Pakistan averaged just 3% GDP per capita growth. Please do not refer to GDP growth as that does not take into account population growth. The only reason why Pakistan managed 3% GDP per capita growth was that US forgave a lot of debt due to Pakistan joining the war on terror. No money from the US this decade and Pakistan has average less than 2% GDP per capita growth this decade so far.
CPEC may push up Pakistan's GDP per capita growth from 3 to 4%. Only by enacting real reform in Pakistan, will per capita growth get any higher. The question must be why was Pakistan not able to do so in 7 decades of independence so far? BD's economy has been flying since 2000 - less than 3 decades after independence.

 

[Bilal9]

Guys - we should remember that we Bangladeshis are after all on a Pakistani forum and their guests here. How should we behave?

Yes some of us Bangladeshis feel like gloating a bit against immature trolls and maybe some of us can even point out why its justified. But would that be mature? The fortunes of countries go up and down all the time. Should we gloat?

In my mind - Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are brothers/sisters and although some immature Pakistanis keep saying they don't care about Bangladesh, I've heard the exact opposite from an overwhelming majority of both Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in real life I have personally met. I understand our future is, for better or worse - intertwined, not the least because of common political and military interests.

Woh mera bhai aur behen hai. Most of them were not even alive in 1971 and they bear no responsibility for what happened then. Let the voices of sanity and maturity bind Pakistan and Bangladesh even closer.

Our unity and closeness will be our strength against our common adversaries, whoever they are. Our maturity and restraint can show the majority of Pakistani brothers and sisters who we are and what we are actually made of, instead of stereotypes and typecast clichés.

 

[Sully3]

Lets all talk about the elephant in the room here.
9/11
Has Bangladesh been going through a messy brutal war (that had nothing to do with Pakistan), spilling over from Afghanistan the graveyard of empires for the last 15 years ??

years and years of war spilling over into our borders taking in world record number of millions of refugees fleeing war from Afghanistan, You bengalis couldnt even take in a few thousand fleeing Rohingynas this year and you guys want to talk about Pakistans GDP. Give me a break live through the social, financial, moral impact of this dirty Afghan war and still come out on the other side with our heads held high. This is Pakistan.

 

[Bilal9]

You bengalis couldnt even take in a few thousand fleeing Rohingynas and you guys want to talk about Pakistans GDP.

The correct number from the last decade (the last purge) was close to a million and this time around it is 800,000. So getting close to two million Rohingyas now. Just sayin'.

 

[Sully3]

The correct number from the last decade (the last purge) was close to a million and this time around it is 800,000. So getting close to two million Rohingyas now. Just sayin'.

thank you for correcting me.

my post implied about the recent refugee crisis.
regards

 

[Homo Sapiens]

Electricity connection by Country:
Pakistan : 97.5%
India : 79.2%
Bangladesh : 62.4%

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS

Now it has risen to 85 percent in Bangladesh in 2017.We are now in the midst of very rapid electrification drive.
[Mannan said that power sector attained huge successes in 2017 as the coverage of power now reached 85 percent and every household would come under the power network by 2019 ahead of the targeted year of 2021.]
https://businessnews24bd.com/economy-to-perform-better-in-2018/

In 1990, Pakistan had electricity connection to 58.7% household, India 45.1% and in Bangladesh just 7.6%. So Bangladesh had to catch up from a very low base.Main reason was early development of large scale hydroelectricity in Pakistan and Thermal electricity in India.While Bangladesh has none of this two important sources.

 

[UKBengali]

Now it has risen to 85 percent in Bangladesh in 2017.We are now in the midst of very rapid electrification drive.
[Mannan said that power sector attained huge successes in 2017 as the coverage of power now reached 85 percent and every household would come under the power network by 2019 ahead of the targeted year of 2021.]
https://businessnews24bd.com/economy-to-perform-better-in-2018/

In 1990, Pakistan had electricity connection to 58.7% household, India 45.1% and in Bangladesh just 7.6%. So Bangladesh had to catch up from a very low base.Main reason was early development of large scale hydroelectricity in Pakistan and Thermal electricity in India.While Bangladesh has none of this two important sources.

I was trying to get the figure for this year.

 

[Valar.]

In 1990, Pakistan had electricity connection to 58.7% household, India 45.1% and in Bangladesh just 7.6%. So Bangladesh had to catch up from a very low base.Main reason was early development of large scale hydroelectricity in Pakistan and Thermal electricity in India.While Bangladesh has none of this two important sources.

Huh? What about 700 rivers in Bangladesh?

 

[Homo Sapiens]

Huh? What about 700 rivers in Bangladesh?

To dam river to produce hydroelectricity, a large reservoir of river water need to create which can span many hundreds or thousands of sq. km area.So it only works where population is very thin or totally uninhabited tracts of land.This type of vast uninhabited land is not available in Bangladesh.So far only one hydroelectric dam is created in Chittagong hill tract region in 1960s, a 250MW plant, still it submerged 54,000 acres of farmland and displaced 1 lakh people.It was the most thinly populated region in Bangladesh.We can not afford to submerge an entire district and displace several million people to just get 1 or 2 GW power.Moreover any hydroelectricity dam in Bangladesh means loss of huge tract of fertile, agricultural land which is simply out of question.Even in Pakistan, Mangla dam created huge number of displaced people in Mirpur region of Azad Kashmir.Many mirpuri since than migrated to UK and many of them are bitter about that fact.For our case it will be a disaster 10 times in magnitude for similar scale of dam.

 

[Valar.]

Makes sense. Thanks

To dam river to produce hydroelectricity, a large reservoir of river water need to create which can span many hundreds or thousands of sq. km area.So it only works where population is very thin or totally uninhabited tracts of land.This type of vast uninhabited land is not available in Bangladesh.So far only one hydroelectric dam is created in Chittagong hill tract region in 1960s, a 250MW plant, still it submerged 54,000 acres of farmland and displaced 1 lakh people.It was the most thinly populated region in Bangladesh.We can not afford to submerge an entire district and displace several million people to just get 1 or 2 GW power.Moreover any hydroelectricity dam in Bangladesh means loss of huge tract of fertile, agricultural land which is simply out of question.Even in Pakistan, Mangla dam created huge number of displaced people in Mirpur region of Azad Kashmir.Many mirpuri since than migrated to UK and many of them are bitter about that fact.For our case it will be a disaster 10 times in magnitude for similar scale of dam.

 

[bluesky]

Huh? What about 700 rivers in Bangladesh?

BD has very few mountain-valley combinations whereby the kinetic energy in the fall of water can be used to propel turbines that produces electricity. The northern mountain/valley combinations in Pakistan have a lot of potential energy. So, Pakistan produces a huge quantity of hydro-electric power. In contrast, the low lying flat lands of BD are without potential energy that can be converted to produce power.

250 mW Kaptai Dam was built when Ayub Khan was the President of the country. He/his team had also thought about building another dam over Sanghu river at the SE of Cox's Bazaar. Nothing such a thing happened after his fall and separation of Pakistan. More than 300m of height (Head, by civil engineering definition) is available there. I have no idea about the catchment area and quantity of rainfall there.

* A few years ago, I heard of a plan to produce 100mW more power at the downstream of Kapatai. But, no news after that.

 

[Shahzaz ud din]

To dam river to produce hydroelectricity, a large reservoir of river water need to create which can span many hundreds or thousands of sq. km area.So it only works where population is very thin or totally uninhabited tracts of land.This type of vast uninhabited land is not available in Bangladesh.So far only one hydroelectric dam is created in Chittagong hill tract region in 1960s, a 250MW plant, still it submerged 54,000 acres of farmland and displaced 1 lakh people.It was the most thinly populated region in Bangladesh.We can not afford to submerge an entire district and displace several million people to just get 1 or 2 GW power.Moreover any hydroelectricity dam in Bangladesh means loss of huge tract of fertile, agricultural land which is simply out of question.Even in Pakistan, Mangla dam created huge number of displaced people in Mirpur region of Azad Kashmir.Many mirpuri since than migrated to UK and many of them are bitter about that fact.For our case it will be a disaster 10 times in magnitude for similar scale of dam.

Brother you are discussing one aspect of the dam building that is power generation.The other aspects are hereby briefly described below.In my opinion they are also equally important for for a country like BD.
Benefits of Dams
This page describes various important roles that dams play. It is geared toward general audiences that wish to learn more about the purpose of dams and what impact they have in their lives and communities.

Dams pro

vide a range of economic, environmental, and social benefits, including recreation, flood control, water supply, hydroelectric power, waste management, river navigation, and wildlife habitat.

• Recreation
  Dams can provide prime recreational facilities throughout the country, Boating, skiing, camping, picnic areas, and boat launch facilities are all supported by dams.
  
• Flood Control
  In addition to helping farmers, dams help prevent the loss of life and property caused by flooding. Flood control dams impound floodwaters and then either release them under control to the river below the dam or store or divert the water for other uses. For centuries, people have built dams to help control devastating floods.
  
• Water Storage (Fire & Farm Ponds)
  Dams create reservoirs throughout the country that supply water for many uses, including industrial, municipal, and agricultural.
  
• Irrigation
  Cropland can be irrigated using water stored behind dams. Thousands of jobs are tied to producing crops grown with irrigated water.
  
• Mine Tailings
  The mining and processing of coal and other vital minerals can be done while protecting the environment.
  
• Electrical Generation
  Hydro power is considered clean because it does not contribute to global warming, air pollution, acid rain, or ozone depletion.
  
• Debris Control
  In some instances, dams provide enhanced environmental protection, such as the retention of hazardous materials and detrimental sedimentation.
  
• Navigation
  Dams and locks provide for a stable system of inland river transportation throughout the heartland of the Nation.

 

[Homo Sapiens]

Brother you are discussing one aspect of the dam building that is power generation.The other aspects are hereby briefly described below.In my opinion they are also equally important for for a country like BD.
Benefits of Dams
This page describes various important roles that dams play. It is geared toward general audiences that wish to learn more about the purpose of dams and what impact they have in their lives and communities.

Dams pro

vide a range of economic, environmental, and social benefits, including recreation, flood control, water supply, hydroelectric power, waste management, river navigation, and wildlife habitat.

• Recreation
  Dams can provide prime recreational facilities throughout the country, Boating, skiing, camping, picnic areas, and boat launch facilities are all supported by dams.
  
• Flood Control
  In addition to helping farmers, dams help prevent the loss of life and property caused by flooding. Flood control dams impound floodwaters and then either release them under control to the river below the dam or store or divert the water for other uses. For centuries, people have built dams to help control devastating floods.
  
• Water Storage (Fire & Farm Ponds)
  Dams create reservoirs throughout the country that supply water for many uses, including industrial, municipal, and agricultural.
  
• Irrigation
  Cropland can be irrigated using water stored behind dams. Thousands of jobs are tied to producing crops grown with irrigated water.
  
• Mine Tailings
  The mining and processing of coal and other vital minerals can be done while protecting the environment.
  
• Electrical Generation
  Hydro power is considered clean because it does not contribute to global warming, air pollution, acid rain, or ozone depletion.
  
• Debris Control
  In some instances, dams provide enhanced environmental protection, such as the retention of hazardous materials and detrimental sedimentation.
  
• Navigation
  Dams and locks provide for a stable system of inland river transportation throughout the heartland of the Nation.

Yes, Dam has other benefit as well as problem such as slitting the river upstream.But for us, it is a question of affordability.We can't vacate several thousands of Sq. km land to just get electricity or irrigation water.Neither we can displace several million people from their home nor we can loose huge tract of farmland.So ,it is out of question.