BD economic performance indices say it is quite ahead of Pakistan and at par or a little ahead of India. But when Japan, Korea, and China invest billions of dollars in the very near future it will propel the country's GDP at a higher rate than now.
I also read about Indian investors from Kolkata investing in BD.
We are waiting for the EPZs to get completed with infrastructures, roads, power, and internet connections to bring in these investments within this or next year.
Economic indices have limitations like all indices, but GDP and GDP per capita are still the most widely used metrics around the world.
BTW, I believe the real misleading GDP calculations aren't from developing countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, or India, it's developed countries, the UK, and the US in particular. A huge (majority) portion of their GDP is simply counted as transactions. It's like you give me $10,000 to give to someone else. Then you take a snapshot of my bank account, which is $10k richer. People often forget how a huge fraction of GDP and export calculations within the UK/US are commercial revenue moved through accounts. It's not my money, and I didn't earn it through work.
For countries like Bangladesh, or even India and Pakistan GDP and Exports calculation are incredibly simple on the other hand. They're services & industry-based economies. Bangladesh export is real export, not some tax evasion bullshit. If we were to rely on conventional metrics, from the IMF, then: (source:
https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPDPC@WEO/PAK/IND)
GDP per capita (nominal) in 2023.
Bangladesh: $2850, India: $2690, Pakistan (???, around $1600)
By 2027:
Bangladesh: $4170, India $3650, Pakistan? (maybe reach Bangladesh value in 2020, if they're lucky, lawl)
Also, note that Bangladesh was the first major South Asian country outside Sri Lanka to exceed the $2500 per capita threshold in 2022. If you look at the map, all the South Asian countries are in Dark Orange, while Bangladesh went to the peach-color territory. I believe IMF's GDP calculations, by large, are quite conservative. Most countries (even the UK, which is currently "celebrating" 0.5% growth, because IMF predicted they'd be in a recession lmao) do slightly better than projected. But Bangladesh did a LOT better than predicted. I remember in 2020 some Pajeet from The Wire was talking about how Bangladesh's GDP overtook India, but how they're expected to regain the lead (though only by a few dollars) by 2023. Didn't happen. The gap between BD and India per capita is growing further apart and is expected to go further apart throughout this decade. And when all the infrastructure and East Asian-style export zones finally become operational, it'll be the case of the BD economy going brrr.
Just out of fun, I looked back at some retrospective posts from 2015/2016 in PDF, when the news about BD exceeding PK economically started to appear. It was a shocker for most Pakistanis, but not shocking to anyone who actually knows anything about economic development. Because Bangladesh started to overtake Pakistan in human development indices: health, vaccination, literacy, and female empowerment, which still causes huge sociopolitical and philosophical firestorms in Pakistan, as evidenced by this very thread.