Bangladesh’s GDP growth is ahead of other South Asian countries in 2019-20 fiscal despite the economic fallout caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, says World Bank.
The World Bank disclosed the information in its twice-a-year-regional update published on Thursday.
In the report, the World Bank estimated a two percent GDP growth in Bangladesh in FY2019-20. However, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in August estimated that the growth will be 5.2 percent, according to the Bank.
On the other hand, World Bank forecasted Bangladesh's GDP growth to be 1.6 percent in FY2020-21.
The World Bank said, South Asia is set to plunge into its worst-ever recession as the devastating impacts of Covid-19 on the region's economies linger on, taking a disproportionate toll on informal workers and pushing millions of South Asians into extreme poverty.
Released on Thursday, the latest South Asia Economic Focus forecasts a sharper than expected economic slump across the region, with regional growth expected to contract by 7.7 percent in 2020, after topping 6 percent annually in the past five year, said a press release.
"The global economic downturn will impact Bangladesh's economy. However, the policies that the government has undertaken to mitigate the impacts are in the right direction" said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
"For a resilient recovery, the government needs to continue to safeguard its fiscal and debt positions, build financial sector health, protect the poor and vulnerable and create a conducive environment for private sector development and job creation," she added.
India's economy, the region's largest, is expected to contract by 9.6 percent in the fiscal year that started in March 2020.
Regional growth is projected to rebound to 4.5 percent in 2021. Factoring in population growth, however, income-per-capita in the region will remain 6 percent below 2019 estimates, indicating that the expected rebound will not offset the lasting economic damage caused by the pandemic.
In previous recessions, falling investment and exports led the downturn. This time is different as private consumption, traditionally the backbone of demand in South Asia and a core indicator of economic welfare, will decline by more than 10 percent, further spiking poverty rates. A decline in remittances is also expected to accelerate loss of livelihoods for the poorest in some countries.
"The collapse of South Asian economies during Covid-19 has been more brutal than anticipated, worst of all for small businesses and informal workers who suffer sudden job losses and vanishing wages," said Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region.
"Immediate relief has dulled the impacts of the pandemic, but governments need to address the deep-seated vulnerabilities of their informal sectors through smart policies and allocate their scarce resources wisely," he added.
The release said three-quarters of all workers in South Asia depend on informal employment, especially in hospitality, retail trade, and transport-sectors most affected by containment measures. The report warns that informal workers and firms have little room to cope with unexpected shocks of the magnitude of Covid-19.
While the poor have faced rising food prices and suffered severely, the Covid-19 crisis has dealt a further blow to many informal workers in the middle of the income distribution who experienced sharp drops in earnings.
BDST: 1650 HRS, OCT 08, 2020
AP/SMS
