ABSTRACT
Bangladesh's GDP per head was US$ 259 in 1996, which is well below other countries in the region. Bangladesh is also faced with a huge (124.3 million) population on a relatively small piece of land. It is the most densely populated country in the world. Furthermore, it is prone to natural disasters such as cyclones and floods. It is a predominantly agrarian economy, but has a small and fast growing manufacturing sector. Bangladesh's economic performance is judged reasonable, if not good, since the mid-1980s. Two major factors – extraneous to policies – have changed its economic fortunes in recent decades: an increased inflow of remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad and the discovery of substantial natural gas deposits.
