Bangladesh is a "minor" power among the 25 selected nations in the Asia-Pacific region and ranked 18th in an index that measures the overall influence of the countries.
The Australian think-tank Lowy Institute's index measures power across 25 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region.
A country's overall power is its weighted average across eight measures -- economic resources, military capability, resilience, future trends, diplomatic influence, economic relationship, defence networks and cultural influence.
Bangladesh posts the strongest performance in the future trends measure of the Asia Power Index, notching the 9th place with a score of 5.2 while the lowest ranking occurs in the economic relationship measure -- in the 23rd place.
The country ranks 16th in economic resources, 20th in military capability, 15th in resilience, 17th in diplomatic influence, 18th in defence network and 16th in cultural influence.
The index-report has projected that the country's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow by 141 per cent between 2016 and 2030, overtaking Taiwan in economic size.
It has also pointed out that the country has the third-largest diaspora in the region after China and India, with an outward migrant population of 3.9 million.
According to the Lowy Institute, India is the most influential cultural partner of Bangladesh.
Regionally, China is the most influential trade and defence partner, followed by the United States of America (USA) in both categories. Globally, the European Union (EU) is the most influential trade partner of Bangladesh, followed by China.
The USA is the pre-eminent power in the region while China is the emerging superpower, which is rapidly closing in on the US.
"Three of the world's four largest economies are in Asia, and the fourth, the United States, is a Pacific power. By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population will live in Asia, compared with just over a tenth in the West," the institute said.
The institute tagged Japan as a smart power and India as a giant of the future. India ranked fourth in the index while Pakistan 14th, Myanmar 20th and Nepal 25th.
Russia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Taiwan, the Philippines and North Korea are labelled as 'middle powers' while Bangladesh, Brunei, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Mongolia, Laos and Nepal 'minor powers' in the region
[email protected]
