GDP growth hits record 7.86pc, per capita income US$ 1,751

Bangladesh has registered highest ever 7.86 per cent GDP growth in the fiscal year 2017-18, which is 0.21 per cent higher than the growth projection of 7.65 percent, BSS reported.

The per capita income increased to US$ 1,751 in fiscal year 2017-18 from US$ 1,610 of the previous fiscal 2016-17, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

The final figure of the economic growth was placed at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (EXNEC) held today at the NEC Conference Room in city’s Sher-e-Banglanagar with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Planning Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal revealed it while briefing the reporters after the meeting.

“We have achieved this growth for outstanding success in the agriculture sector as no major natural disaster hit us this year (last fiscal). Besides, we got good progress in the industrial and power sectors,” he said.

In the last fiscal, the contribution of Agriculture to the GDP was 13.82 percent, while that of industry and services sectors were 30.17 percent and 56 percent respectively, said Mustafa Kamal.

The GDP growth was 7.28 percent in fiscal 2016-17 and 7.11 percent in fiscal 2015-16 and 6.55 percent in fiscal 2014-15.

The planning minister said the GDP size increased to Taka 22,505 billion (US$ 274.11 billion) in the fiscal 2017-2018, which was Taka 19,758 billion in fiscal 2016-17.

He said the investment to GDP ratio also increased at 31.23 percent –7.97 percent public investment and 23.26 private sector investment– in the fiscal 2017-18, up from 30.51 percent in the fiscal 2016-17.

The national savings against GDP was 27.42 percent in the last fiscal year, the planning minister added.