IMF projects 5% growth for Bangladesh in 2021

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday projected a 5% growth for Bangladesh's economy in 2021.

It made the projection in its annual World Economic Outlook ahead of the spring meeting with the World Bank.

In the latest update of the World Economic Outlook, it also said Bangladesh's economy is expected to grow by 7.5% in 2022.

A week ago, the World Bank had upped Bangladesh's growth forecast to 3.6% from its earlier forecast at only 1.6%. It also forecast that the real GDP growth in Bangladesh can range between 2.6% and 5.6% in FY21.

The IMF projected an impressive 12.5% growth rate for India in 2021, stronger than China. It expects China's economy to grow by 8.4% this year.

Moreover, the IMF forecast the highest growth rate for the Maldives (18.9%) in South Asia. It projected 2.9% growth for Nepal and 4% for Sri Lanka.

The Washington-based global financial institution projected a stronger recovery in 2021 and 2022 for the global economy compared to the previous forecasts.

The IMF increased its forecast for global growth to 6% this year. It predicts a growth of 4.4% in 2022.

The projections for 2021 and 2022 are stronger than that made in the October 2020 World Economic Outlook.

The upward revision reflects additional fiscal support in a few large economies, the anticipated vaccine-powered recovery in the second half of 2021, and continued adaptation of economic activity to subdued mobility.

However, the IMF warned that recoveries are not equal across countries and even within some countries.

It also said an additional 95 million people are expected to have fallen into extreme poverty in 2020. The number of undernourished people is calculated to have grown by 80 million.

"The outlook presents daunting challenges related to divergences in the speed of recovery both across and within countries and the potential for persistent economic damage from the crisis," IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said.