Economic growth is expected to be relatively subdued at the start of the forecast period 2009 to 2013. A rebound in the global economy will then lift real GDP growth in Bangladesh to an average of 5.6 per cent a year in 2011 to 2013, when growth will be driven largely by expansion in private consumption and gross fixed investment. The economy will remain dependent on both the agricultural sector, which underpins private consumption, and the textile industry, which accounts for the bulk of the country’s exports. Workers’ remittances will continue to be an important engine of private consumption growth and will equate to an average of around ten per cent of nominal GDP in 2009 to 2013. Stronger rates of private consumption and investment growth from the middle years of the forecast period will boost demand for a range of imports, leading to deterioration in the current-account position.
According to data recently published by the Bureau of Statistics, the economy grew by 5.9 per cent in 2008 / 2009, bolstered by strong performances by the services and agricultural sectors, which expanded by 6.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively.
Wage Earners Remittance received by the country in 2007 / 2008 was USD 7,914.78 million which has been increased to USD 9,689.26 million in 2008 / 2009.
Gross foreign exchange reserves of the Bangladesh Bank stood higher at USD 7,741.46 million as of the end of July 2009, against USD 7,470.96 million as of the end of June 2009. This was also higher than the USD 5820.11 million reserves as of the end of July 2008.
Exports receipts during July 2008 to May 2009 increased by USD 1,501.44 million or 11.88 per cent to USD 1,4140.30 million, compared to USD 1,2638.86 million of July 2007 to May 2008.
Exports include the following: raw jute, jute goods, tea, frozen food, leather, woven garments, knitwear, chemical products, agricultural products and some engineering and electronic goods. (Source: Bangladesh Bank, July 2008).
The nominal exchange rate remained stable in the 2008 financial year, with the Taka appreciating only by about 0.5 per cent against the US Dollar, aided by periodic interventions in the foreign exchange market by Bangladesh Bank.
Exports grew by 15.7 per cent in the 2008 financial year, driven by strong performance in knitwear in the second half. The share of woven garments and knitwear, at 75.8 per cent of total exports, was slightly higher than in the previous year.
Deceleration in demand for low-end garment exports from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) due to the appreciating Yuan and the PRC’s graduation from this market segment has provided opportunities for export growth for Bangladesh, where low-end products predominate. International buyers of Bangladesh products have also been encouraged by the large improvements in ports, customs and safety and labour standards in the past couple of years. Nevertheless, slower growth in export earnings for the rest of the 2009 financial year is foreseen because of the global slowdown and lower prices. Export vulnerability is accentuated by the lack of diversification, both in terms of products and destinations – about 75 per cent of exports are concentrated in textiles and over 90 per cent of those exports are destined for US and European markets. Exports that are income elastic, such as frozen foods and leather products, have already shown considerable vulnerability to the global slowdown. (Source: www.adb.org)
The population is currently 159.99 million (2007) (Source: Euromonitor). The population is relatively young, with the 0 to 25 age group comprising 60 per cent, while 3.7 per cent are 65 or older. Life expectancy is 64.75 years for both males and females. With a high birth rate (28.6 per cent in 2006), low infant mortality rate (50.7 per cent in 2007) and a continuing influx of expatriates, demand outstrips supply in the field of education.
There is a high ratio of mobile phone users. The present growth and potential of future growth are attracting foreign investors and big names in the world's telecom sector for a stake in the Bangladeshi market. The mobile network currently covers about 85 per cent of the geographic area and 97 per cent of the country’s population. Rising teledensity is a major indicator of its contribution – in 1997, teledensity in Bangladesh was only 0.4 per cent; this increased to 26.8 per cent. The total number of mobile telephone subscribers has reached 47.97 million at the end of July 2009.
Call centres are an emerging revenue opportunity for Bangladesh. The global market of the call centre industry was USD 382.5 billion in 2004 and is expected to reach USD 641.2 billion by 2009. This is an enormous opportunity for Bangladesh: at the moment, all ingredients are available in the country to seize a significant chunk of the global market.
In Bangladesh, the school structure is broadly divided into two types: the Bangla medium and the English medium Schools. In the Bangla schools, Bangla is the medium of instruction, and students follow the national curriculum, whereas the English medium schools use English as their medium of instruction and they follow either the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) for IGCSE or EDEXCEL's GCE O- and A-levels. These examinations are conducted by the British Council.
Bangladesh sees itself as a secular state with a moderate Muslim majority of 90 per cent of its citizens. Bangladesh is the seventh most highly populated state in the world with the highest density and 60 per cent of the population is under 25 years.
One important thing to note is that a student has to apply for undergraduate courses within two years of passing HSC, otherwise, they will not qualify as regular student and will have to appear as a private candidate.
A total of 607,872 candidates from 7,237 educational institutions took part in this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations. On average, 72.78 per cent of students passed, while as many as 20,136 students achieved the highest grade point average (GPA) of 5. A lack of places for students will divert them to other study destinations.
- Public education spending (percentage of GDP): 2.6%
- Public education spending (percentage of Government spending): 15.8%
- Share of education spending by level of education:
- primary: 46.3%
- secondary: 40.8%
- tertiary: 11.5%
- other: 1.4%
There has been an increase of 275 Bangladeshi students studying in the UK to 2,955 in 2007 / 2008. The recent HESA report shows that the percentage of postgraduate students is increasing gradually (postgraduate: 53.64 per cent; undergraduate: 46.36 per cent). 79.02 per cent of the students are male and only 20.98 per cent are female.
Source: HESA student record
British Council Bangladesh conducted 50,000 GCE examinations, 9,500 educational and professional examinations and 4,000 IELTS examinations in the summer of 2009.
Australia still attracts a high percentage of Bangladeshi students. In 2007 / 2008, 2,879 Bangladeshi students went to Australia (onshore programmes, full degree). IDP arranges a small, low profile exhibition. Canada holds an education fair biannually. The US has virtually faded away from the scene due to stringent visa restrictions. 2,305 students went to the US in 2007 / 2008. India is the biggest competitor, especially for the schools sector. Malaysia and Singapore are also competitors, although it is difficult to gauge how many Bangladeshi students attend educational institutions there.
The British Council has four offices in Bangladesh: a main office and a teaching centre in Dhaka, the capital, and two small offices in Sylhet and Chittagong.
The British Council Bangladesh website attracted 35,000 unique visitors while our regular presentations attracted over 3,000 students. British Council Bangladesh has managed 78 promotional visits of UK institutions from April 2008 to March 2009 while 56 promotional visits were made from April 2007 to March 2008. With our Education UK activities overall, we reached 22,765 people (18,245 in 2007 / 2008). The British Council’s PASS (Professional Advisory Service for Students) placement service has taken precedence and the number of students that the British Council has processed has increased dramatically compared to the last year. From April to September 2008, we processed 188 student applications and from April to September 2009, we have processed 830 applications, which is an increase of 77.35 per cent.
The 2010 Education UK Exhibition will be the 12th education promotion event and the highest profile event organised by British Council Bangladesh. It receives substantive media interest, both electronic and print. This leads to increased hits on the website and a tripling of educational enquiries.
The 2009 Education UK Exhibition in Dhaka had 37 UK institutions participating (32 the previous year), while Chittagong had 22 (16 the previous year). They attracted 5,500 visitors and a lot of media interest. Please note that the decrease in fair visitors is actually due to the introduction of an entrance fee to attract quality visitors and introducing the visitor registration system. This does not in any way represent a decrease in the interest for UK education.
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