Bangladesh set to overtake India in per capita GDP this year: IMF

The International Monetary Fund has projected that Bangladesh will exceed India's per capita GDP in 2024, underscoring the country's robust economic performance and development progress. This milestone comes as Bangladesh continues to maintain steady growth rates, driven by strong export sectors, foreign direct investment, and domestic consumption.

Per capita GDP, which measures average income per person, serves as a key indicator of living standards and economic prosperity. Bangladesh's anticipated surpassing of India in this metric represents a significant reversal from historical economic positions, reflecting the country's accelerated development over recent years.

The South Asian nation has demonstrated resilience through various economic cycles, with its ready-made garments sector, remittances from overseas workers, and growing manufacturing base contributing to sustained expansion. The projection by the IMF, a closely watched global institution, provides external validation of Bangladesh's economic trajectory and policy effectiveness.

Experts attribute the achievement partly to Bangladesh's focus on industrialization, infrastructure development, and human capital investment. The country has also benefited from competitive labor costs and favorable demographic factors that have attracted foreign investment and supported export-led growth strategies.

While both nations continue to develop, Bangladesh's improvement in per capita income metrics reflects the tangible gains experienced by its growing middle class and improved earning capacity across various sectors of the economy.

Photo: The Dhaka skyline on a cloudy day, July 2025. Tarunno via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).