Pakistan vs Bangladesh: GDP, Growth & Trajectory

Turning Point

In 2024, Pakistan's GDP stood at $371.5 billion versus Bangladesh's $450.3 billion — a ratio of 0.82x. That single data point captures a reversal that few economic observers in South Asia would have predicted three decades earlier, when Pakistan's economy was nearly 45 percent larger than Bangladesh's. The year 2020 marked the definitive crossover, as Bangladesh achieved a nominal GDP of $373.9 billion, overtaking Pakistan's $300.4 billion for the first time in recorded economic history. By 2024, the gap had widened to $78.8 billion in Bangladesh's favor, according to World Bank national accounts data. The per-capita ratio tells an even starker story: at $1,526 versus $2,606, Pakistan's per-capita income reached just 59 percent of Bangladesh's level.

The turning point was not a single event but a gradual accretion of structural divergences. Bangladesh's relentless expansion of ready-made garment exports, sustained remittance flows, and a demographic transition that lowered dependency ratios all contributed to a growth trajectory that outpaced Pakistan's for two decades. Pakistan, meanwhile, confronted a recurring cycle of fiscal crises, underinvestment in human capital, and political turbulence that eroded the continuity of economic reform. The World Bank's GDP growth figures for 2024 — 2.78 percent for Pakistan against 4.22 percent for Bangladesh — indicate that the divergence is not merely a historical artifact; it is ongoing.

What makes the crossover psychologically significant is the narrative of independence and post-conflict reconstruction. Bangladesh entered 1971 as a war-ravaged territory dismissed in some quarters as a "basket case." Pakistan began the same period with a larger industrial base, superior infrastructure, and higher per-capita income. The subsequent fifty-year reversal challenges assumptions about the primacy of initial conditions in determining long-run economic outcomes. According to World Bank data, Bangladesh's GDP per capita stood at $82 in 1960, identical to Pakistan's. By 2024, Bangladesh's figure was 71 percent higher. The ratio of 0.59x on per-capita terms means the average Bangladeshi now produces and earns substantially more than the average Pakistani, measured in current US dollars.

The turning point also reflects differing responses to external shocks. The COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020, when the crossover occurred, tested both economies severely. Bangladesh's GDP held at $373.9 billion while Pakistan's reached $300.4 billion. The garment sector in Bangladesh proved more resilient than many analysts expected, with orders returning quickly as global retailers diversified sourcing away from China. Pakistan's textile sector, while also export-oriented, contended with energy shortages, cotton crop disruptions, and a macroeconomic stabilization program that constrained growth just as Bangladesh was pulling ahead. By 2024, the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook database recorded Pakistan's GDP per capita in purchasing-power-parity terms at $6,494, compared to Bangladesh's $9,697 — a gap of $3,203 per person, the widest absolute spread on record.

Current State

As of 2024, the two economies operate at demonstrably different scales and levels of development, despite their shared South Asian geography and overlapping post-colonial histories. Bangladesh's nominal GDP of $450.3 billion ranks it as the 33rd-largest economy globally, while Pakistan's $371.5 billion places it approximately six positions lower in the World Bank's global league table. The difference of $78.8 billion — roughly equivalent to the entire GDP of a small middle-income country — has emerged entirely since 2020. In purchasing-power-parity terms, the gap narrows but persists: Pakistan's PPP GDP of $1.58 trillion stands against Bangladesh's $1.68 trillion, a differential of approximately $100 billion that reflects Bangladesh's larger real output adjusted for domestic price levels.

Macroeconomic stability indicators paint contrasting pictures. Pakistan's inflation rate reached 18.02 percent in 2024, according to World Bank data, a level that prompted the State Bank of Pakistan to maintain one of the highest policy interest rates in Asia throughout much of 2023 and 2024. Bangladesh's inflation rate, while elevated by its own historical standards at 10.10 percent, remained nearly 8 percentage points lower. This inflation differential has eroded Pakistani household purchasing power and complicated business planning. The IMF's Article IV consultations for Pakistan in 2024 noted that inflation disproportionately affected food prices, hitting lower-income households hardest. Bangladesh's inflation, while also concentrated in food items per Bangladesh Bank reports, has been partially offset by stronger nominal wage growth in the export sector.

Labor market data from 2025 shows unemployment at 5.42 percent in Pakistan versus 3.78 percent in Bangladesh. The lower Bangladeshi figure reflects the absorption capacity of the garment industry, which employs approximately 4 million workers directly, predominantly women, and the continued outflow of migrant workers to Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Southeast Asia. Pakistan's higher unemployment rate masks significant underemployment in the informal sector and a female labor-force participation rate that, at roughly 22 percent per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, lags behind Bangladesh's rate of approximately 36 percent according to International Labour Organization estimates. Life expectancy data from 2023 reinforces the developmental divergence: 74.67 years in Bangladesh compared to 67.65 years in Pakistan — a gap of more than 7 years that reflects differences in public health outcomes, nutritional status, and access to healthcare.

A summary of key 2024 comparative indicators, drawn from World Bank and IMF datasets, illustrates the current economic configuration:

• Nominal GDP (2024): Pakistan $371.5B | Bangladesh $450.3B (World Bank)
• PPP GDP (2024): Pakistan $1.58T | Bangladesh $1.68T (World Bank)
• GDP per capita (2024): Pakistan $1,526 | Bangladesh $2,606 (World Bank)
• GDP per capita PPP (2024): Pakistan $6,494 | Bangladesh $9,697 (World Bank)
• GDP growth (2024): Pakistan 2.78% | Bangladesh 4.22% (World Bank)
• Population (2024): Pakistan 251.3M | Bangladesh 173.6M (World Bank)
• Inflation (2024): Pakistan 18.02% | Bangladesh 10.10% (World Bank)
• Unemployment (2025): Pakistan 5.42% | Bangladesh 3.78% (World Bank/ILO)
• Life expectancy (2023): Pakistan 67.65 years | Bangladesh 74.67 years (World Bank)

Historical Trajectory (1960-2024)

The long-run data series from 1960 to 2024, compiled from World Bank national accounts, reveals a story of convergence, parity, divergence, crossover, and accelerating separation. In 1960, the two economies were nearly identical in scale: Pakistan's GDP of $3.7 billion was actually smaller than Bangladesh's (then East Pakistan's) $4.3 billion, while per-capita income stood at $82 for both. This parity reflected the integrated economic structure of pre-1971 Pakistan, where East Pakistan's jute exports and agricultural output generated substantial foreign exchange, even as industrial investment and political power concentrated in the West. The 1960s saw West Pakistan grow faster, aided by Green Revolution investments in Punjab's wheat and cotton belts and industrial development around Karachi, while East Pakistan's relative neglect sowed the seeds of political separation.

By 1980, nine years after Bangladesh's independence, the GDP gap had swung decisively in Pakistan's favor. Pakistan's economy reached $31.1 billion compared to Bangladesh's $21.5 billion — a ratio of 1.45x. Pakistan's per-capita income of $383 was 48 percent higher than Bangladesh's $259. This period coincided with Pakistan's status as a frontline state in the Soviet-Afghan conflict, which brought substantial US aid flows, remittances from Pakistani workers in the Middle East, and an early phase of industrial expansion. Bangladesh, meanwhile, struggled through the 1970s with post-war reconstruction, political instability including the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, and vulnerability to famine and natural disasters. The development literature of the era, including World Bank country reports, frequently characterized Bangladesh as a chronic aid-dependent economy with limited growth prospects.

The 1990 snapshot of 1990 shows Pakistan's GDP at $52.6 billion and Bangladesh's at $36.3 billion — a GDP ratio of 1.45x, identical to 1980. Pakistan's per-capita income of $480 compared to Bangladesh's $341 suggested a stable leadership position. However, beneath the surface, structural shifts were already in motion. Bangladesh had begun its garment export takeoff, leveraging the Multi-Fibre Arrangement quota system that gave least-developed countries preferential access to developed-country textile markets. Pakistani industry, more oriented toward domestic consumption and higher-end textiles, did not benefit from the same quota advantages. The fertility rate in Bangladesh began a historic decline from roughly 6.3 children per woman in the mid-1970s to around 4.3 by 1990, the early effects of a family-planning program that would later reshape the economy's dependency ratio.

The period from 1990 to 2010 reveals the first phase of Bangladeshi convergence. By 2000, Pakistan's GDP of $99.5 billion compared to Bangladesh's $57.5 billion — the absolute gap of $42 billion was the widest in history up to that point, and the ratio held at 1.73x. Pakistan's per-capita income of $688 exceeded Bangladesh's $440 by 56 percent. Yet Bangladesh's growth rate had begun to accelerate, averaging above 5 percent annually through the late 1990s, while Pakistan's economy became increasingly volatile, subject to the boom-bust cycles associated with alternating periods of military and civilian rule, sanctions linked to nuclear tests in 1998, and mounting public debt. By 2010, the picture had transformed. Pakistan's GDP reached $196.7 billion, while Bangladesh had climbed to $126.7 billion — the ratio had compressed to 1.55x. Bangladesh's per-capita income of $847 had closed to 80 percent of Pakistan's $1,063.

The decade from 2010 to 2020 represents the decisive phase of the trajectory shift. Bangladesh's economy expanded at an average annual rate of approximately 6.5 to 7.0 percent, driven by garment exports that crossed the $30 billion annual mark, remittances exceeding $15 billion per year, and a domestic consumption boom fueled by a growing middle class and declining dependency ratios. Pakistan's growth averaged closer to 4 percent, weighed down by energy crises, security challenges following the 2014 military operation in North Waziristan, and a chronic current-account deficit that repeatedly required IMF stabilization programs. By 2020, Bangladesh's GDP hit $373.9 billion, eclipsing Pakistan's $300.4 billion. The per-capita crossover had occurred even earlier — by approximately 2016, according to World Bank data, Bangladesh's per-capita income had already exceeded Pakistan's, reaching $2,260 by 2020 against Pakistan's $1,327.

The final data point of 2024 confirms the new equilibrium. Bangladesh's GDP of $450.3 billion and per-capita income of $2,606 represent the cumulative effect of four decades of sustained export-led growth, demographic transition, and social indicators that improved faster than income alone would predict. Pakistan's GDP of $371.5 billion and per-capita income of $1,526 reflect an economy that grew in absolute terms but lost ground in relative ones. The 0.82x GDP ratio and 0.59x per-capita ratio of 2024 are not statistical aberrations; they are the terminal data points of a sixty-four-year arc that began from identical per-capita starting positions in 1960. The table below summarizes the GDP and per-capita trajectories across the seven benchmark years provided by World Bank data:

Year	Pakistan GDP (USD)	Bangladesh GDP (USD)	GDP Ratio (PK/BD)	Pakistan Per Capita	Bangladesh Per Capita	Per-Capita Ratio
1960	$3.7B	$4.3B	0.86x	$82	$82	1.00x
1980	$31.1B	$21.5B	1.45x	$383	$259	1.48x
1990	$52.6B	$36.3B	1.45x	$480	$341	1.41x
2000	$99.5B	$57.5B	1.73x	$688	$440	1.56x
2010	$196.7B	$126.7B	1.55x	$1,063	$847	1.26x
2020	$300.4B	$373.9B	0.80x	$1,327	$2,260	0.59x
2024	$371.5B	$450.3B	0.82x	$1,526	$2,606	0.59x

Per Capita Reality

The per-capita income comparison between Pakistan and Bangladesh encapsulates the most consequential dimension of their economic divergence. In 2024, the average Bangladeshi produced and earned $2,606 in current US dollars, while the average Pakistani produced $1,526 — a differential of $1,080, or 71 percent. This gap is not merely a statistical artifact of exchange-rate movements; it reflects deep differences in labor productivity, export orientation, female workforce participation, and the demographic burden of dependent populations. In purchasing-power-parity terms, which adjust for the fact that goods and services are generally cheaper in Pakistan than in Bangladesh, the gap narrows but remains substantial: $9,697 per capita in Bangladesh versus $6,494 in Pakistan, a difference of $3,203 that represents nearly a 50 percent premium for the average Bangladeshi household.

The per-capita trajectory over the sixty-four-year sample period is revealing. In 1960, both populations stood at $82 per capita — identical starting points that reflected the integrated but unequal economic structure of united Pakistan. By 1980, Pakistan had opened a significant lead: $383 versus $259, a per-capita ratio of 1.48x. This lead widened further through 1990 ($480 to $341) and peaked in 2000, when Pakistan's per-capita income of $688 was 1.56 times Bangladesh's $440. The inflection arrived sometime between 2005 and 2010. By 2010, the ratio had compressed to 1.26x ($1,063 versus $847). By 2020, it had reversed entirely to 0.59x — Pakistan's per-capita income had fallen to 59 percent of Bangladesh's, a ratio that held steady through 2024. No other pair of large developing economies in Asia has experienced such a complete per-capita reversal over a comparable timeframe, according to data compiled from the World Bank's World Development Indicators.

What drives the per-capita gap? Three structural factors stand out. First, Bangladesh's fertility decline — from over 6 children per woman in the 1970s to approximately 2.0 by 2024 — has reduced the share of dependents in the population, allowing a higher proportion of national income to be saved and invested rather than consumed by a rapidly expanding population. Pakistan's fertility rate, while also declining, remained above 3.3 children per woman as of 2024 according to UN Population Division estimates, implying continued high dependency ratios for at least another generation. Second, Bangladesh's garment sector has provided formal-sector employment to millions of women who previously had limited labor-market options, directly lifting household incomes and indirectly improving child health and education outcomes. Pakistan's female labor-force participation rate, at approximately 22 percent, ranks among the lowest in the developing world, representing a substantial underutilization of human capital. Third, Bangladesh's export-to-GDP ratio, while declining from its peak, remained in the 12-15 percent range in 2024, according to Bangladesh Bank data, compared to Pakistan's approximately 8-10 percent, per State Bank of Pakistan figures. The export sector's higher productivity tends to pull up average incomes across the economy.

The per-capita PPP figure of $9,697 for Bangladesh places the country near the threshold for lower-middle-income to upper-middle-income transition under the World Bank's classification system, while Pakistan's $6,494 situates it solidly in the lower-middle-income band with a longer climb ahead. The implications for poverty reduction are significant. Bangladesh's poverty headcount ratio at the $3.65-per-day line (2017 PPP) had fallen to approximately 22 percent by 2022, according to the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform, while Pakistan's remained above 40 percent by comparable measures. The per-capita story is thus inseparable from the broader human-development narrative, in which Bangladesh's gains in life expectancy, infant mortality reduction, and female education have reinforced — and been reinforced by — income growth. Pakistan's lower per-capita income in 2024 reflects not a single policy failure but a cumulative underperformance in converting population growth into productive employment.

Sector Composition

The structure of output in Pakistan and Bangladesh reveals economies at different stages of structural transformation, though both retain larger agricultural sectors than the typical middle-income country. According to World Bank data for 2024, agriculture accounts for 23.74 percent of Pakistan's GDP — more than double Bangladesh's 11.16 percent. Pakistan's large agricultural share reflects the enduring weight of the Indus Basin irrigation system, which supports wheat, cotton, rice, and sugarcane production across Punjab and Sindh provinces. The cotton crop alone underpins Pakistan's textile industry, which constitutes the country's largest manufacturing sub-sector and primary export earner. However, the agricultural sector's productivity growth has lagged, with yields for major crops stagnating relative to regional competitors. Water scarcity, soil degradation, and fragmented landholdings have constrained the sector's capacity to drive broad-based income gains. In Bangladesh, agriculture's declining share — from over 30 percent in the early 2000s to 11.16 percent in 2024 — reflects a successful structural transformation in which labor has shifted out of low-productivity farming into manufacturing and services, aided by the expansion of rice yields that freed up household labor for off-farm employment.

The industrial sector exhibits the sharpest compositional contrast between the two economies. Bangladesh's industrial sector accounts for 34.10 percent of GDP, compared to Pakistan's 20.25 percent — a difference of nearly 14 percentage points that is almost entirely attributable to Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) industry. The RMG sector directly accounts for approximately 11 percent of Bangladesh's GDP and over 80 percent of merchandise exports, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association data. Its backward linkages to knitting, spinning, dyeing, and accessories manufacturing have deepened the industrial base, while the sheer scale of employment — roughly 4 million workers, predominantly women — has transformed household income dynamics. Pakistan's industrial sector, by contrast, is more diversified across textiles, cement, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and light engineering, but collectively these sub-sectors have not achieved the export scale or global integration of Bangladesh's garment cluster. Pakistan's industrial growth has been constrained by energy shortages, high policy interest rates, import restrictions that hinder access to raw materials and machinery, and a business environment that the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business indicators historically ranked among the most challenging in South Asia.

The services sector is the largest component of GDP in both economies — 50.73 percent in Pakistan and 51.42 percent in Bangladesh — but its composition differs in ways that matter for future growth. Pakistan's services sector is weighted toward wholesale and retail trade, transport, and public administration, with a relatively small information technology and business-process-outsourcing segment that has nonetheless been growing rapidly. Freelance IT services and software exports have emerged as a bright spot, with the State Bank of Pakistan reporting IT export remittances of approximately $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2023. Bangladesh's services sector has grown alongside industrialization, with financial services, telecommunications, and domestic logistics expanding to support the garment export ecosystem. Mobile financial services, led by bKash, have achieved significant penetration in Bangladesh, supporting financial inclusion at rates that exceed Pakistan's. Both economies are experiencing the long-term shift toward services that characterizes middle-income development, but Bangladesh's higher industrial share provides a stronger foundation for the productivity growth that sustains service-sector expansion. The sector data for 2024 confirms that Bangladesh is further along the classic structural transformation path — agriculture declining, industry peaking, and services steadily rising — while Pakistan's transition appears stalled, with an unusually large agricultural residual and an industrial sector too small to absorb the growing labor force.

Trade Relationship Between the Two

Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Bangladesh remains a fraction of what geographic proximity and shared history might suggest. According to UN Comtrade data, total two-way merchandise trade in calendar year 2022 amounted to approximately $900 million to $1.1 billion, heavily weighted toward Pakistani exports. Pakistan's principal exports to Bangladesh include cotton yarn, woven fabrics, cement, and chemicals, while Bangladesh's exports to Pakistan consist primarily of jute products, pharmaceuticals, and a small but growing volume of consumer goods. The asymmetry reflects the structural difference in the two economies' trade profiles: Pakistan runs a persistent bilateral surplus with Bangladesh, as it does with most trading partners outside of China and the Middle East, while Bangladesh's trade surplus with the world (driven by garments) does not extend to its South Asian neighbors, with whom it typically runs deficits.

The trade relationship is complicated by political sensitivities dating to the 1971 separation. Pakistan's recognition of Bangladesh in 1974 opened formal diplomatic and commercial channels, but a series of unresolved issues — including the division of pre-1971 assets and liabilities and questions of historical accountability — have periodically chilled economic engagement. Bangladesh imposed restrictions on Pakistani imports for years after independence, citing trade imbalances, and while most formal restrictions have been lifted, non-tariff barriers and limited transport connectivity continue to suppress bilateral commerce. The absence of a direct shipping line between Karachi and Chittagong until recent years meant that goods often transshipped through Colombo, Singapore, or Dubai, adding cost and delay. A direct container shipping service was launched in the mid-2010s, but frequency remains limited compared to the potential volume, according to shipping industry reports from Lloyd's List.

In the broader regional context, both countries conduct the bulk of their trade outside South Asia. Bangladesh's garment exports are overwhelmingly destined for the European Union and North America, while Pakistan's textile and rice exports flow primarily to China, the EU, the United States, and the Middle East. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has failed to catalyze significant intra-regional trade, and the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement has had limited practical effect on Pakistan-Bangladesh commerce. According to World Trade Organization trade profiles, intra-South Asian trade accounts for less than 5 percent of the region's total trade, the lowest share of any major regional grouping globally. Pakistan and Bangladesh exemplify this pattern: their economies are more deeply integrated with extra-regional partners than with each other.

Recent shifts, as tracked by national customs data and UN Comtrade, suggest modest diversification. Bangladesh's pharmaceutical industry has begun exporting generic drugs to Pakistan, exploiting cost advantages in active pharmaceutical ingredient production. Pakistan's information technology sector has sought Bangladeshi clients for software services, though volumes remain small. The potential for expanded trade in agricultural commodities — Pakistani kinnow (citrus) and dates, Bangladeshi freshwater fish and processed foods — remains largely untapped due to phytosanitary barriers and cold-chain limitations. The World Bank's 2023 South Asia Economic Focus noted that Pakistan-Bangladesh trade could plausibly double or triple if transport connectivity improved and non-tariff barriers were reduced, but the political economy of protectionism in both countries makes near-term breakthroughs unlikely. The bilateral trade relationship thus remains a case study in unrealized potential, constrained by history, logistics, and the gravitational pull of extra-regional markets.

Demographics & Future Outlook

The demographic profiles of Pakistan and Bangladesh present one of the most consequential divergences for their medium-term economic trajectories. Pakistan's population of 251.3 million in 2024 is growing at an annual rate of approximately 1.8 to 1.9 percent, according to UN Population Division estimates, implying a net addition of roughly 4.5 to 5 million people per year. Bangladesh's population of 173.6 million is growing at approximately 1.0 to 1.1 percent annually, adding roughly 1.7 to 1.9 million people per year. The absolute gap in population — 77.7 million more Pakistanis in 2024 — confers a potential market-size advantage for Pakistan but simultaneously imposes enormous demands on infrastructure, education, healthcare, and, most critically, job creation. Pakistan must generate an estimated 1.5 to 2 million new jobs annually simply to absorb new labor-force entrants, a target it has not consistently met. Bangladesh's slower labor-force growth, combined with the continued absorption capacity of the garment sector and overseas employment, has kept unemployment at 3.78 percent as of 2025, below Pakistan's 5.42 percent.

The age-structure differences are equally significant. Bangladesh's median age of approximately 27 to 28 years places it in the late stage of its demographic dividend — the period when the working-age share of the population peaks relative to dependents. This dividend has been a critical enabler of Bangladesh's high savings and investment rates over the past two decades. However, the window is beginning to close as the population starts to age; Bangladesh's fertility rate has fallen to near-replacement levels, and the dependency ratio will begin rising again by the late 2030s. Pakistan, with a median age of approximately 21 to 22 years, is at the very start of its demographic transition. The working-age population is expanding rapidly, and if productive employment can be found for these young workers, Pakistan could experience a demographic dividend comparable to that which propelled East Asian growth in the late twentieth century. The counter-risk is equally stark: without sufficient job creation, a large cohort of unemployed or underemployed young men could exacerbate social and political instability, a pattern already visible in periodic urban unrest.

The International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook projections, as of the October 2024 vintage, anticipate continued divergence in the near term. Bangladesh's GDP growth is projected to average in the 5 to 7 percent range over 2025-2028, driven by continued garment export growth, infrastructure investment including the Padma Bridge and Dhaka metro rail expansions, and remittance flows that topped $23 billion in 2023. Pakistan's growth is projected more cautiously, in the 2.5 to 4 percent range, contingent on the success of stabilization reforms under successive IMF programs, the restoration of macroeconomic stability, and the resolution of energy-sector circular debt that has constrained industrial competitiveness. The medium-term outlook for Pakistan hinges substantially on whether the Special Investment Facilitation Council and related initiatives can attract Gulf Cooperation Council and Chinese investment into agriculture, mining, and IT at a scale sufficient to shift the growth trajectory.

Life expectancy data from 2023 — 74.67 years in Bangladesh versus 67.65 years in Pakistan — highlights the human-development dimension of the demographic story. Bangladesh's longer life expectancy reflects lower infant and maternal mortality, better nutritional outcomes, and more effective public-health interventions, particularly in diarrheal disease control and immunization. These health gains have economic implications: healthier populations are more productive, save more, and invest more in children's education, creating intergenerational virtuous cycles. Pakistan's relatively lower life expectancy signals persistent challenges in primary healthcare delivery, nutrition, and environmental health, including air quality in urban centers like Lahore and Karachi that ranks among the world's worst by WHO metrics. The demographic outlook therefore contains both promise and peril: Pakistan's youthful population could be an engine of growth or a source of instability, while Bangladesh's maturing workforce must contend with the productivity imperative as the demographic dividend fades. The two countries' economic trajectories over the next decade will be shaped as much by how they manage these demographic realities as by any external factor.

FAQ

Is Bangladesh's economy now larger than Pakistan's?

Yes. According to World Bank data for 2024, Bangladesh's nominal GDP stood at $450.3 billion, compared to Pakistan's $371.5 billion. The gap of $78.8 billion represents a ratio of 0.82x in Pakistan's favor. Bangladesh first overtook Pakistan in nominal GDP terms in 2020, when Bangladesh recorded $373.9 billion against Pakistan's $300.4 billion. In purchasing-power-parity terms, Bangladesh also leads: $1.68 trillion versus Pakistan's $1.58 trillion in 2024.

Why did Bangladesh overtake Pakistan economically?

Bangladesh's economic overtaking of Pakistan resulted from sustained higher GDP growth rates over approximately two decades, driven by a booming ready-made garment export sector, strong remittance inflows, a successful demographic transition that reduced fertility rates and dependency ratios, and improvements in social indicators including female education and labor-force participation. Pakistan's growth was constrained by recurring fiscal and balance-of-payments crises, energy shortages, lower female workforce participation, and political instability that disrupted reform continuity. By 2024, Bangladesh's GDP growth of 4.22 percent continued to outpace Pakistan's 2.78 percent.

What is the GDP per capita of Pakistan compared to Bangladesh in 2024?

In 2024, Bangladesh's GDP per capita reached $2,606, while Pakistan's stood at $1,526, according to World Bank data. The per-capita income of Pakistan is thus 59 percent of Bangladesh's level. In purchasing-power-parity terms, the figures are $9,697 for Bangladesh and $6,494 for Pakistan — a gap of $3,203. The per-capita crossover occurred around 2016, when Bangladesh's per-capita income exceeded Pakistan's for the first time.

Which country has a higher inflation rate — Pakistan or Bangladesh?

Pakistan has a significantly higher inflation rate. In 2024, Pakistan's inflation rate reached 18.02 percent, compared to Bangladesh's 10.10 percent, as reported by the World Bank. Pakistan's elevated inflation has been driven by food price increases, currency depreciation, and energy tariff adjustments under IMF-mandated reforms. Bangladesh's inflation, while above its historical average, has been comparatively more moderate.

How do the populations of Pakistan and Bangladesh compare?

In 2024, Pakistan's population was 251.3 million, making it the fifth-most populous country globally. Bangladesh's population was 173.6 million, ranking it eighth. Pakistan's population is approximately 77.7 million larger — a gap equivalent to the entire population of Turkey. Pakistan's population growth rate of roughly 1.8-1.9 percent annually exceeds Bangladesh's 1.0-1.1 percent, implying the demographic gap will widen further in coming decades.

What are the main industries in Pakistan versus Bangladesh?

Bangladesh's industrial sector accounts for 34.10 percent of GDP (2024), dominated by the ready-made garment industry, which represents roughly 80 percent of merchandise exports and employs approximately 4 million workers. Pakistan's industrial sector is smaller at 20.25 percent of GDP, encompassing textiles, cement, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and light engineering. Bangladesh's agriculture share of GDP has fallen to 11.16 percent, while Pakistan's remains high at 23.74 percent, reflecting a less advanced stage of structural transformation.

Is unemployment higher in Pakistan or Bangladesh?

As of 2025, Pakistan's unemployment rate was 5.42 percent, exceeding Bangladesh's 3.78 percent, according to World Bank and ILO data. Bangladesh's lower unemployment reflects the labor-absorbing capacity of the garment sector and continued overseas employment for migrant workers, primarily in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Pakistan's unemployment figure masks significant underemployment, particularly among educated youth and in the large informal sector.

What is the trade relationship between Pakistan and Bangladesh?

Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Bangladesh is modest, estimated at approximately $900 million to $1.1 billion in 2022 according to UN Comtrade, with Pakistan running a surplus. Pakistan exports cotton yarn, fabrics, cement, and chemicals to Bangladesh, while Bangladesh exports jute products, pharmaceuticals, and some consumer goods to Pakistan. Trade is constrained by limited transport connectivity, historical political sensitivities dating to the 1971 separation, and both countries' much stronger trade orientation toward extra-regional partners in Europe, North America, and East Asia.

Which country has a better life expectancy?

Bangladesh has a significantly higher life expectancy. As of 2023, life expectancy at birth in Bangladesh was 74.67 years, compared to 67.65 years in Pakistan — a gap of more than 7 years, according to World Bank data. Bangladesh's advantage reflects better outcomes in infant and maternal mortality, nutritional status, immunization coverage, and communicable disease control, particularly in diarrheal diseases and tuberculosis.

What does the IMF project for Pakistan and Bangladesh in the coming years?

According to the IMF's World Economic Outlook projections from October 2024, Bangladesh is expected to maintain GDP growth in the 5 to 7 percent range through 2028, supported by garment exports, infrastructure investment, and remittance inflows. Pakistan's growth is projected more cautiously in the 2.5 to 4 percent range, contingent on continued macroeconomic stabilization, IMF program compliance, energy-sector reforms, and the attraction of foreign investment. The IMF's Article IV consultations highlight Pakistan's need for sustained reform implementation to close the growth gap with regional peers.