BBS to introduce district-wise GDP

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) is set to introduce district-wise gross domestic product (GDP) to analyse economic growth, production structure, structural changes, income distribution, consumption, investment, savings, and per capita income at the district level.

According to BBS officials, the Statistics and Informatics Division (SID) has submitted a project proposal at an estimated cost of Tk37.91 crore. The project evaluation committee at a meeting, organised recently by the Industry and Energy Division of the Planning Commission, approved the project subject to complying with certain recommendations, the officials confirmed to The Business Standard.

The project is aimed at establishing physical and soft infrastructure, conducting surveys and studies, and compiling district GDP data. Additionally, it seeks to enhance the existing system of quarterly GDP, which is expected to be introduced in the upcoming fiscal year.

By providing district GDP data, the project looks to assist the government and policymakers in formulating a sustainable development plan. This data will enable ranking of divisions and districts based on resource availability and vulnerability.

Economists have lauded the initiative, emphasising that District GDP will be instrumental in identifying constraints and potential at the district level. They believe that the data will play a crucial role in local-level economic planning.

The BBS plans to implement the project by June 2028, pending approval from the planning minister. The project is aimed at capturing the quarterly dynamics of the economy from the national to the district level.

The project will conduct different surveys on education, the healthcare sector, and Internet Service Providers (IPS). Additionally, case studies will be conducted on sectors such as courier services, construction, non-profit institutions, money exchange, arts and entertainment, and other subsectors of the service industry.

Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), commended the BBS's efforts to create disaggregated GDP data.

He stated that the introduction of Quarterly GDP by the BBS would be a significant milestone in national income accounting.

He further highlighted the importance of district-level GDP estimates and noted that each district would be considered as a unit for calculating GDP.

The economist said that the BBS will be in a comfortable situation with the agriculture and industrial data as the current GDP uses the district as a unit. The difficult part of compiling district GDP is the service sector, as there are several types of services, particularly personal services.

"It is a good initiative. The BBS will have to go with some problems. The methodology of estimation should be openly discussed with the experts and stockholders, he concluded. 

Matiar Rahman, director general of the BBS, expressed the organisation's commitment to the government, specifically the finance ministry and the Bangladesh Bank, in introducing Quarterly GDP in the upcoming fiscal year.

He affirmed that the BBS is on track to achieve this target and stated that the new project would enhance quarterly GDP data collection, particularly from the service sector.

"The service sector is our major sector of the GDP but we have lower coverage and lower information about the sector," Matiar said, adding, "We have to conduct some studies to update the availability of data from the service sector. 

Furthermore, an official from the BBS indicated that the formulation of District GDP is not contingent upon the completion of the proposed project and hinted that District GDP publication is expected by FY25.