Countries · Asia
Bangladesh
Bangladesh is one of the world's largest clothing exporters, and remittances from workers abroad are its other main source of foreign currency.
At a glance
Net inflows of foreign direct investment were $1.78bn in 2025, against an average of $1.89bn a year in 2015–2024. Investors based in Bangladesh put a net $0.03bn into direct investment abroad in the same year, less than Bangladesh received. Money sent home by workers abroad came to $33.9bn in 2025, equal to 7.4% of GDP.
Remittances came to $33.9bn in 2025. Reserves fell sharply between 2021 and 2024 and have since started to recover.
Direct and equity investment
Annual net flows, $bn. Direct investment means building or buying businesses; portfolio equity means buying listed shares and fund units.
Net flows by year
Direct investment into and out of Bangladesh, and foreign buying of its shares, $bn.
Current account and reserves
The balance of trade and income with the rest of the world, and the reserves held by the central bank.
Current account balance
Each year, $bn. A surplus means the country lends to the rest of the world.
Foreign exchange reserves, including gold
End of year, $bn.
Remittances
Money sent home by people working abroad, compared with direct investment, $bn.
Remittances and direct investment
Each year, $bn.
The economy
GDP
Current US dollars, $bn. Dollar figures also move with exchange rates.
Growth and inflation
Real GDP growth and consumer price inflation, per cent.
All figures
Annual figures from the World Bank, as published. Download them for every country on the data page.
| Indicator | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (m) | 159.38 | 160.81 | 162.19 | 163.52 | 164.91 | 166.30 | 167.66 | 169.38 | 171.47 | 173.56 | 175.69 |
| GDP ($bn) | 195.1 | 265.2 | 293.7 | 321.4 | 351.2 | 374.0 | 416.3 | 460.1 | 437.4 | 450.1 | 456.3 |
| GDP per person ($) | 1,224 | 1,649 | 1,811 | 1,965 | 2,130 | 2,249 | 2,483 | 2,716 | 2,551 | 2,593 | 2,597 |
| Real GDP growth (%) | 6.6 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 3.4 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| Inflation (%) | 6.2 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 7.7 | 9.9 | 10.5 | 8.8 |
| Current account ($bn) | 2.58 | 0.93 | −5.98 | −7.10 | −2.95 | 1.19 | −15.78 | −17.53 | −7.20 | −3.01 | −0.20 |
| Current account (% GDP) | 1.3 | 0.4 | −2.0 | −2.2 | −0.8 | 0.3 | −3.8 | −3.8 | −1.6 | −0.7 | 0.0 |
| Reserves incl. gold ($bn) | 27.5 | 32.3 | 33.4 | 32.0 | 32.7 | 43.2 | 46.2 | 33.7 | 21.9 | 21.4 | 28.6 |
| Direct investment in ($bn) | 2.83 | 2.33 | 1.81 | 2.42 | 1.91 | 1.53 | 1.72 | 1.60 | 1.47 | 1.28 | 1.78 |
| Direct investment out ($bn) | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.13 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Portfolio equity in ($bn) | −0.10 | 0.11 | 0.26 | −0.03 | −0.07 | −0.35 | −0.27 | −0.17 | −0.13 | −0.06 | −0.01 |
| Remittances ($bn) | 15.30 | 13.57 | 13.50 | 15.57 | 18.36 | 21.75 | 22.21 | 21.51 | 22.07 | 27.52 | 33.88 |
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