The country’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025-26 as a sharp fall in industrial activity dragged down overall output, according to provisional data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Bangladesh’s economy may have expanded at its slowest pace in January 2026 compared to the last seven months, as the latest Bangladesh Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed a marginal easing in momentum amid softer manufacturing exports.

The growth in the number of economic units in Bangladesh has slowed over the past decade, primarily due to capital shortages among rural entrepreneurs, according to the latest Economic Census of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Bangladesh recorded its lowest economic growth in the past five quarters in the last quarter of fiscal 2023-24 due to contractionary monetary and fiscal policies to tackle the dwindling forex reserves and high inflation.