India’s FY22 per capita income projected higher than Bangladesh: IMF

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India may have overtaken neighbouring Bangladesh on the per capita income front in 2021-22 after Dhaka took an edge on the economic metric in the last few years, according to International Monterey Fund (IMF) projections.

However, the lead will be difficult to maintain as India’s per capita income is expected to trail that of Bangladesh’s in the next few years starting 2022-23, according to a report in Business Standard.

India’s per capita income is projected to take a minor lead of $38 over Bangladesh’s in 2021-22. The average income earned by a Bangladeshi citizen was found to be $1,962 in 2020-21 against $1,935 pocketed by an average Indian.

India is likely to trail its neighbour by $200 in 2027-2028, as per IMF projections. The data is based on gross domestic product per capita at current prices in dollars.

It is to be noted that Bangladesh is a notable exporter of textiles, which is a labour-intensive industry. The industry contributes 20% to Bangladesh’s GDP and accounts for 80% of Dhaka’s merchandise exports.

Bangladesh is the second-biggest South Asian economy after India. It has managed a consistent 6% GDP growth over the last 6 years. It managed to grow even during the pandemic while other nations, including India.