Photo: iStock
Martin Vilonya
03/10/2023 06:00
Since gaining independence in 1971, the country has managed to increase its GDP per capita by a factor of 25 - without having the significant raw material resources, skilled labour or industrial capacity to do so when the young state was born. Indeed, the new country even risked not being able to feed its citizens without outside help.
Since then, the garment industry has played a key role in boosting the economy, with its various sectors now accounting for more than 90 per cent of exports. Three factors have proved particularly important to the success of the garment industry: successful collaboration between government and the private sector based on incentives and effective interventions; easy, duty-free access to developed markets; and a cheap, productive and abundant labour force. The garment industry has also helped the country in the area of employment policy, with high female participation in the labour market in the region. Employment in the garment sector offers women financial security and independence.
However, the rapid development of the textile industry has not been without its problems: deaths in Bangladeshi garment factories have been widely reported in the international press, and the expansion of the textile industry has caused widespread pollution of the country's waters. The former problem was addressed by improving safety standards after the tragic collapse of the Rama Plaza garment factory in 2013, which killed more than 1,000 people. The garment industry has also made great strides in sustainability: fifty-two of the 100 greenest factories listed by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green economy organisation are in Bangladesh.
However, Bangladesh's development story is not yet complete, for example in the area of digitalisation, where it is still lagging behind. This is reflected in the fact that, according to the local Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, only a little over a third of the adult population (around 60 million people) use the internet. A further problem is highlighted by a survey by WaterAid, a charity working on clean water and sanitation in the country, which found that half of the population still lack access to a hygienic toilet.
Despite these difficulties and shortcomings, Bangladesh's progress can serve as a lesson for all developing countries. If the nation can successfully respond to the challenges of the 21st century, the vision of a Golden Bengal, envisioned at independence, may be within reach.
The author is a student at John von Neumann University (NJE)