The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) is set to publish quarterly data on the country's gross domestic product (GDP) from next year, according to Md Matiar Rahman, director general of the agency.
The BBS will publish the GDP data from the first quarter of 2024, he said during a discussion to mark National Statistics Day 2023 in the capital.
It has taken the move to release quarterly GDP data as it was one of the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the upcoming $4.5 billion loan for Bangladesh.
Rahman said the BBS starts calculation after getting data from various sources of the government.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) -- one of the biggest data sources of the BBS -- does not release quarterly data, which is why the BBS also cannot prepare GDP's quarterly data, he said.
The statistics bureau is also planning to change its consumer price index from July this year according to the guideline set by the IMF, Rahman said.
Data of 722 food and non-food items under 12 categories will be taken instead of the current 412 items under 8 categories, he further said.
Mohiuddin Ahmed, deputy director of the BBS, highlighted the challenges the bureau is currently facing in preparing and publishing national data.
The BBS is running with an insufficient organizational setup both at the center and field levels, he said.
The BBS should also produce regional data along with the quarterly data, said State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam, who attended as chief guest.
Regional data will be of great help if the government is provided with it at the time of understanding the financial condition of any region, he added.
