BD to overtake India in per capita GDP: IMF

Bangladesh is set to overtake India in terms of per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020-21, reports BSS.

According to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, India's per capita GDP is likely to fall 10.5 per cent to $1,877 -- the lowest in four years -- due to the sharp economic contraction following the strictest nationwide lockdown in the world due to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, is expected to see its per capita GDP to grow by four per cent to $1,888.

Per capita GDP is a global measure for determining the prosperity of nations and is used by economists, along with GDP, to analyse the prosperity of a country. It is calculated by dividing the GDP of a country by its population.

It may be noted that the GDP figures for both Bangladesh and India are at current prices. The WEO database suggests that the Indian economy will be the worst-hit from the pandemic in South Asia after Sri Lanka, whose per capita GDP is expected to shrink 4.0 per cent in the current calendar year.