The FY2026–27 budget draws a comparison of macroeconomic indicators between BNP and Awami League governments, including growth, inflation, debt and banking sector trends.
The BNP-led government under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has presented the FY2026–27 national budget, set at Tk938,000 crore, marking the 55th national budget since independence.
The proposal has been approved by the prime minister.
The budget includes a comparative assessment of macroeconomic indicators between the previous Awami League government and the BNP-led four-party alliance government that was in office from 2001 to 2006.
Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the comparisons cover key indicators across the two periods.
He said GDP growth stood at 6.78% in FY2005–06. It fell to 4.22% in FY2023–24 and further to 3.49% in FY2024–25.
General inflation was 7.17% in FY2005–06, compared with 11.66% in July 2024.
The income-based Gini coefficient rose from 0.467 in 2005 to 0.499 in 2022, according to available survey data.
The revenue-to-GDP ratio remained around 8%, while the tax-to-GDP ratio stood at 6.8%.
The minister said the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio in the banking sector was 13.6% in December 2005, rising to 35.73% in the first quarter of FY2025–26, or about Tk644,000 crore.
He said the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) was 7.3% in 2005, but fell to minus 2.64% by the end of 2025.
Private sector credit growth declined from 18.3% in FY2005–06 to 6.5% in FY2024–25.
He said foreign debt stood at Tk130,000 crore in 2006 and rose to Tk812,000 crore in 2024.
Domestic debt increased from Tk65,000 crore to Tk1,077,000 crore over the same period.
Interest expenditure rose from Tk8,500 crore in FY2005–06 to Tk114,700 crore in FY2023–24.
Export and import growth stood at 21.6% and 12.2% respectively in FY2005–06, compared with negative growth in FY2023–24.
The exchange rate of the taka against the US dollar rose from Tk68 in FY2005–06 to Tk122 in FY2023–24.
The minister also alleged deterioration in the capital market due to mismanagement and irregularities.
He said the banking and financial sectors remained stable during the BNP-led alliance period.
According to references cited in the budget, Bangladesh’s debt risk profile has shifted from low-risk in the mid-2000s to moderate-risk in recent assessments by international financial institutions.
