IMF downgrades Bangladesh’s GDP growth projection again for current fiscal

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has once again revised downward the growth forecast for Bangladesh's economy to 5.7 percent for the current fiscal year of 2023-24.

The IMF came up with the revised projection in its World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday.

The IMF growth forecast underscored various global and local challenges, including persistently high inflation, unemployment, reduced remittance flow, and a decline in the industrial investment target.

For the second time, the global lender has slashed the economic growth forecast for Bangladesh. In October of last year, it initially projected a 6 percent growth rate, marking a reduction from its earlier prediction of 6.5 percent for FY2023-24.

The IMF growth forecast comes just a week after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected that Bangladesh's GDP would expand by 6.1 percent in FY 2023-24, largely driven by exports.

Earlier this month, the World Bank indicated that Bangladesh would experience subdued growth due to reduced private consumption impacted by high inflation.

It forecasted a GDP expansion of 5.6 percent in FY 2023-24, falling below the average annual growth rate of 6.6 percent observed over the decade preceding the Covid-19 pandemic.