New Delhi: Bangladesh’s economy has gone flat because of a “deep investment downturn,” meaning no fresh jobs are coming into the job market while inflation tops the region at “over 8 per cent,” the Prothom Alo piece reports.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics shows that October’s inflation hit 8.17 per cent. India’s figure is a tiny 0.25 per cent, and Sri Lanka—still dealing with a bankruptcy crisis—reports inflation at 2.1 per cent.
Neighbored by these numbers, Nepal’s new interim government, installed after the Gen‑Z protests ousted the former KP Sharma Oli administration on September 12, already fixed an election date of March 5 next year. That move has calmed the uncertainty and pulled Nepal’s inflation down to 1.47 per cent, according to the article.
Pakistan turns out to be the only South Asian country whose inflation approaches Bangladesh’s, standing at 6.2 per cent. Bhutan and the Maldives follow at 3.93 per cent and 3.87 per cent, respectively.
For ordinary Bangladeshis, this economic slump spells real hardship. People are feeling the pinch as wages decline, poverty rises, and many private‑survey data place the impoverished percentage around 28 per cent, whereas official 2022 figures quoted 18.7 per cent.
The story also notes that large delegations are traveling abroad, while the government has shelled out big sums on new police uniforms. Everyday living costs keep climbing, but salaries lag behind, the job market is shrinking, and banks are tightening deposits, all of which erode public trust. With weak enforcement of law and order, instability lingers, so most citizens are not expecting inflation to collapse sharply.
When the interim government first took office, government borrowing surged year‑on‑year to 11.61 per cent, and private‑sector credit grew by 9.86 per cent. Those numbers have since jumped: borrowing is now 27.22 per cent, while private credit has dropped to 6.29 per cent.
This trend shows the government relies heavily on banks to cover its budget deficit. Revenue is low and spending high. In June 2023, the previous administration set a record with bank borrowing at about 35 per cent of the deficit; the current interim government has already reached the second‑highest level, the article points out.
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