Bangladesh's current account deficit narrowed to 0.67% of GDP in 2024, improving by nearly one percentage point from the previous year.

Bangladesh's current account balance stood at negative 0.67% of GDP in 2024, a marked improvement from negative 1.65% in 2023. This improvement of 0.98 percentage points represents a 59.3% reduction in the deficit relative to the prior year. The trajectory signals a partial correction after a period of external pressure, though the balance remains in deficit territory. A decade earlier, in 2014, the country posted a surplus of 0.44% of GDP, meaning the current position is 1.11 percentage points weaker than ten years ago.

For policymakers, the narrowing deficit offers breathing room but not complacency. A smaller current account gap eases pressure on foreign exchange reserves and the taka, giving the central bank greater flexibility in managing monetary policy. However, the shift from surplus to deficit over the past decade underscores a structural reliance on imported inputs, particularly energy and capital goods, that constrains external stability. Sustaining this improvement will require consistent export growth, disciplined import management, and stable remittance inflows, all of which remain vulnerable to global economic conditions and domestic supply-side bottlenecks.

Data note. The current account balance as a share of GDP can be influenced by revisions to either the balance numerator or the GDP denominator, and preliminary figures for 2024 may be subject to subsequent updating.