Bangladesh: In 10 charts: How divorce from Pakistan made Bangladesh the better half

At the height of the Cold War, on December 16, 1971, the Pakistani army surrendered in Dhaka, removing all roadblocks for the creation of Bangladesh – the world’s eighth largest country in terms of population. Since its separation from Pakistan, which itself is the fifth most populated country, Bangladesh has progressed quite rapidly on nearly all development indicators. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r In 1971, Pakistan was an $11-billion economy while Bangladesh was a $9-billion economy. Pakistan continued to be larger than Bangladesh for many years, but today Bangladesh is a $324-billion economy while Pakistan is at $ 264 billion. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r Because of significant dependence on the primary sector the GDPs of both Bangladesh and Pakistan had fluctuating growth rates. Since the 2000s, Bangladesh has been growing steadily while Pakistan remains a laggard. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r With a higher GDP and smaller population Bangladesh has a much higher GDP per capita compared with Pakistan. Its GDP per capita of $1,969 in 2020 is nearly double of Pakistan’s $1,194. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r Barring a slump during the pandemic, the share of exports in Bangladesh’s GDP has grown rapidly since the 2000s. Pakistan, however, is witnessing a steady decline. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r Both countries have nearly similar import dependence. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r In 1971, West Pakistan was more urbanised and industrialised than East Pakistan, which was a major source of raw materials. Today, Bangladesh is slightly more urbanised than Pakistan. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r At the time of liberation, Bangladesh’s total fertility rate (births per woman) was 6.9 to Pakistan’s 6.6. Since the 1980s it has gone through a dramatic and globally acclaimed reduction in TFR. Today its TFR of 2 is below replacement level while Pakistan’s is 3.5. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r Pakistan and Bangladesh had similar infant mortality rates (IMR) in 1971 – 140 for Pakistan and 148 for Bangladesh. Today, Bangladesh’s IMR is 26 – much lower than Pakistan’s IMR of 56. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r In 1971, an average Bangladeshi lived to 47 years, compared with 53 years for an average Pakistani. Now Bangladesh’s life expectancy of 73 years is 6 years more than Pakistan’s 67 years. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r Improvements in Bangladesh’s social indicators happened with the improvement in literacy rate. In 1981 the adult literacy figures were 25.7% for Pakistan and 29.2% for Bangladesh. Today, the corresponding figures are 58% and 74.7%.Untitled Carousel 88291495