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Economy - overview
The economy has grown 5-6% per year since 1996 despite political instability, poor infrastructure, corruption, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, 45% of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector with rice as the single-most-important product. Bangladesh's growth was resilient during the 2008-09 global financial crisis and recession. Garment exports, totaling $12.3 billion in FY09 and remittances from overseas Bangladeshis, totaling $11 billion in FY10, accounted for almost 12% of GDP.
Labor force
75.42 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances were $10.9 billion in FY09/10 (2011 est.)
Unemployment rate
5% (2011 est.) 5.1% (2010 est.) note: about 40% of the population is underemployed; many participants in the labor force work only a few hours a week, at low wages
Budget
revenues: $12.67 billion expenditures: $17.15 billion (2011 est.)
Public debt
36.7% of GDP (2011 est.) 35.4% of GDP (2010 est.)
Stock of money
$10.35 billion (30 September 2009)
Agriculture - products
rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
Industries
jute, cotton, garments, paper, leather, fertilizer, iron and steel, cement, petroleum products, tobacco, drugs and pharmaceuticals, ceramic, tea, salt, sugar, edible oil, soap and detergent, fabricated metal products, electricity and natural gas
Electricity - production
25.62 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - consumption
23.94 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Oil - production
5,724 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - consumption
98,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - exports
2,770 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - imports
77,340 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Exports
$23.86 billion (2011 est.) $19.24 billion (2010 est.)
Exports - commodities
garments, knitwear, agricultural products, frozen food (fish and seafood), jute and jute goods, leather
Exports - partners
Imports
$31.75 billion (2011 est.) $24.72 billion (2010 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement
Imports - partners
China 18.9%, India 12.7%, Singapore 6%, Malaysia 4.7%, Japan 4% (2009)
Debt - external
$24.93 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $24.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Exchange rates
taka (BDT) per US dollar 73.7 (2011 est.) 69.65 (2010 est.) 69.04 (2009)
Fiscal year
1 July - 30 June
Deflation is when the general level of prices is falling. This is the opposite of inflation. Hyperinflation is unusually rapid inflation. In extreme cases, this can lead to the breakdown of a nation's monetary system. One of the most notable examples of hyperinflation occurred in Germany in 1923, when prices rose 2,500% in one month!
Stagflation is the combination of high unemployment and economic stagnation with inflation. This happened in industrialized countries during the 1970s, when a bad economy was combined with OPEC raising oil prices.
In recent years, most developed countries have attempted to sustain an inflation rate of 2-3%.
Watch: Monetary Inflation Causes of Inflation Economists wake up in the morning hoping for a chance to debate the causes of inflation. There is no one cause that's universally agreed upon, but at least two theories are generally accepted: Demand-Pull Inflation - This theory can be summarized as "too much money chasing too few goods". In other words, if demand is growing faster than supply, prices will increase. This usually occurs in growing economies. Cost-Push Inflation - When companies' costs go up, they need to increase prices to maintain their profit margins. Increased costs can include things such as wages, taxes, or increased costs of imports. Costs of Inflation Almost everyone thinks inflation is evil, but it isn't necessarily so. Inflation affects different people in different ways. It also depends on whether inflation is anticipated or unanticipated. If the inflation rate corresponds to what the majority of people are expecting (anticipated inflation), then we can compensate and the cost isn't high. For example, banks can vary their interest rates and workers can negotiate contracts that include automatic wage hikes as the price level goes up. Problems arise when there is unanticipated inflation:
Creditors lose and debtors gain if the lender does not anticipate inflation correctly. For those who borrow, this is similar to getting an interest-free loan. Uncertainty about what will happen next makes corporations and consumers less likely to spend. This hurts economic output in the long run. People living off a fixed-income, such as retirees, see a decline in their purchasing power and, consequently, their standard of living. The entire economy must absorb repricing costs ("menu costs") as price lists, labels, menus and more have to be updated.
If the inflation rate is greater than that of other countries, domestic products become less competitive.
People like to complain about prices going up, but they often ignore the fact that wages should be rising as well. The question shouldn't be whether inflation is rising, but whether it's rising at a quicker pace than your wages. Finally, inflation is a sign that an economy is growing. In some situations, little inflation (or even deflation) can be just as bad as high inflation. The lack of inflation may be an indication that the economy is weakening. As you can see, it's not so easy to label inflation as either good or bad - it depends on the overall economy as well as your personal situation. Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/university/inflation/inflation1.asp#ixzz2JOVijsa9