Economy—overview: Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest most densely populated and least developed nations. Annual GDP growth has averaged over 4% in recent years from a low base. Its economy is largely agricultural with the cultivation of rice the single most important activity in the economy. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas) inadequate power supplies and slow implementation of economic reforms. Frequent strikes that crippled the economy in 1995 and early 1996 subsided after Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed's Awami League government assumed power in mid-1996 allowing a return to normal economic activity. The current government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets; for example it has negotiated with foreign firms for oil and gas exploration better countrywide distribution of cooking gas and the construction of natural gas pipelines and power plants. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy public sector unions and other vested interest groups.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$167 billion (1997 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 5.5% (1997 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$1 330 (1997 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 30%
industry: 18%
services: 52% (1996)

Inflation rate—consumer price index: 2.5% (1996)

Labor force:
total: 56 million
by occupation: agriculture 63% services 25% industry and mining 10% (1996)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia Kuwait UAE and Oman (1996)

Unemployment rate: 35.2% (1996)

Budget:
revenues: $3.6 billion
expenditures: $5.3 billion including capital expenditures of $3 billion (FY96/97)

Industries: jute manufacturing cotton textiles food processing steel fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 5.3% (1996)

Electricity—capacity: 2.978 million kW (1995)

Electricity—production: 11.5 billion kWh (1997)

Electricity—consumption per capita: 71 kWh (1997 est.)

Agriculture—products: rice jute tea wheat sugarcane potatoes; beef milk poultry

Exports:
total value: $3.9 billion (1996)
commodities: garments jute and jute goods leather frozen fish and seafood
partners: Western Europe 42% US 30% Hong Kong 4% Japan 3% (FY95/96 est.)

Imports:
total value: $6.9 billion (1996)
commodities: capital goods textiles food petroleum products
partners: India 21% China 10% Western Europe 8% Hong Kong 7% Singapore 6% (FY95/96 est.)

Debt—external: $17.1 billion (1996)

Economic aid:
recipient: $1.475 billion (FY96/97)

Currency: 1 taka (Tk) = 100 poisha

Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1—45.450 (January 1998) 43.892 (1997) 41.794 (1996) 40.278 (1995) 40.212 (1994) 39.567 (1993)

Fiscal year: 1 July—30 June