Bangladesh A Promising Country Part-2

Bangladesh A Promising Country Part-2

Writer: Rafi Al Mahmud

Export -Import Partners and Garments Industry

Bangladesh is exporting 705 products to the global market. Share of major export products are -

01 .RMG and knit wear 81.4% 7 Items

02. Jute goods 2.3%

03 .Frozen Foods 2.3%

04. Footwear 1.9%

05.Leather & Leather Products 1.7%

06. Engineering goods 1.2

07. Agricultural goods 1.1 Total 90.70%

Only 7 commodities are contributing 90.70% to our total export earning where as 698 items have share of 9.30% in our total export. RMG is a great prospect for the Bangladesh economy especially in exporting. Almost 82% of total export covers from this Sector. The sector employs 4.4 million workers, 80 percent of whom are women.

ICT Sector in Bangladesh

ICT in Bangladesh is a vibrant sector supported by the government committed to providing a pro-business climate for all investors. Now, there are over one thousand registered software and ITeS companies in the country employing over 70,000 ICT professionals. According to BASIS estimations within the next five years 1% of Bangladesh’s total GDP will come from the software and IT services sector and over 1,50,000 Software and IT professionals will be working in the Bangladeshi IT industry. With 4G coming in and broadband internet access widening, the future would be much more technologically converged.

Pharmaceutical Sector in Bangladesh

The pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh has been going through rapid development. The domestic market, which was worth $2 billion last year, meets 97 percent of the local demand. Moreover, Bangladesh is now exporting drugs to 127 countries. Rxports grew around 25 percent in the last seven years and the amount stood at $60.19 million in the first eight months of this fiscal year and we have the potential to earn $1 billion a year through exports in the next five years.

Education Sector in Bangladesh

The country’s total literacy rate is 72.3 percent (2016). Some remarkable achievement are access to primary education and gender parity, National Education policy 2010, distribution of all text books free on 1st January every year. The net enrolment rate in primary education in 2016 has reached 97.96%. Bangladesh has achieved gender parity for educational access in both primary and secondary education (well in advance of their 2015 MDG). Girls comprise of 51.9 percent of the total number of students in secondary level in Bangladesh, which is the highest among the E-9 countries (Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh). For tertiary education, there are currently 38 public and 92 private universities in Bangladesh.

 Bangla is one of the top 10 most spoken among 6500 languages in the world

 21st February has been recognized as “International Mother Language Day” by UNESCO

 Achievement of Millennium Development Goals: Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health (Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio). Bangladesh and Cambodia performed best among the 49 LDCs in achieving Millennium Developed Goals.

 Bangladesh’s contribution to UN peacekeeping mission is the 2nd largest in the world with over 10,000 peacekeepers who have engaged in the UN missions.

 Rajshahi has outperformed every other city in the world in reducing air pollution (WHO, 2016).

 Bangladesh has been ranked the third most peaceful country in South Asia, faring better than Nepal (4th), India (5th) and Pakistan (6th) (Global Peace Index, 2017)

 Bangladesh’s fertility rate is only about 2.2. That makes it the 94th lowest in the world.

 Bangladesh has outperformed its neighboring countries in social & heath sector development e.g. increasing primary school enrolment, higher immunization reducing infants & maternal mortality, child malnutrition, fertility rate and vulnerable jobs etc.

Bangladesh in Global Arena

 The Bangabandhu-1, the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications satellite was launched on May 11, 2018 & BD became the 57th satellite-owning country in the world.

 In South Asia, Bangladesh is ahead of both India and Pakistan in nutrition & basic medical care, personal safety, health & wellness, and tolerance & inclusion. Bangladesh is also ahead of Pakistan in access to basic knowledge, access to information and communications. (Social Progress Index, 2016)

 RMG Industry of Bangladesh has generated $28.14 billion export earnings in 2016-17. Ranking 2nd in global export, it is well positioned to attain the $50 billion mark by 2021.

 Bangladesh overtook China & India in ethical compliance in apparel segment by improving workplace safety (AsiaInspection, Q1 2018)

 Bangladesh leads South Asia in gender equity with ranking 47th among 144 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2017 prepared by World Economic Forum. (Maldives-106, India–108, Sri-lanka-109, Nepal-111, Blutan-124, Pakistan-143)

 Bangladesh moved up three spots and ranked 139th out of 188 countries in Global Human Development Index. It maintained a higher average annual HDI growth rate of 1.64 percent -- from 1990 to 2015, compared to all other South Asian countries, including India (1.52 percent), according to the report (HDR, 2016). Under-5 Mortality Rate, (per 1,000 live births) Number of Maternal Mortality Rate (Thousands) Fertility rate, total (births per woman) Immunization, Child malnutrition & Job-vulnerability.

Bangladesh Archaeological & Tourist Sites

Tourist Sites

Bangladesh is a country of natural beauty, hilly mountains, longest beach, favorable climate, six seasons which are the key factors to develop eco-tourism. Bangladesh has many archeological and historical sites too. The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP (wider effects) was 4.1 % in 2017. Tourism can bring many economic, social and environmental benefits, particularly in rural areas and developing countries.

Archaeological :

 Paharpur (Naogaon district) and Halud Vihara (about 14.5 km west-south-west of Paharpur), Bhasu Vihara & Mahasthangarh (Bogra district), Mainamoti, Lalmai Pahar, and Ananda Vihara (Comilla district), Sitakot Vihar and Kantaji Temple (Dinajpur district), Wari- Bateshwar (Narsingdi).

 Cox’s Bazar is the longest unbroken 120 km sandy sea beach in the world. The Sundarbans is the worlds largest coastal mangrove forest, with an area of approximately 10,000 sq km. Other tourist attraction includes Rangamati, Sylhet, Chittagong, Kuakata (It is a unique beach for viewing sunrise as well as sunsetting).

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