Bangladesh per capita debt mounts to $483

As 2024 drew to a close, a sobering economic milestone quietly took shape: every Bangladeshi now carries the burden of $483 in public external debt.

This revelation stems from the latest figures released by the Bangladesh Bank, which show the nation's outstanding foreign debt ballooning to $103.64 billion by December 2024.

Of this, the government's share alone is $84.21 billion. With the population nearing 174 million, the per capita burden has nearly doubled since fiscal year 2015-16 when the figure was $257.

The backdrop to this mounting debt is a decade of steady economic expansion.

Bangladesh's per capita income rose to $2,738 in fiscal year 2023–24, according to preliminary estimates from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

But as incomes rose, so too did liabilities—raising critical questions about who bears the cost and who reaps the rewards.

Converted to local currency, the external debt translates to approximately Tk 58,612 per person.

By comparison, the proposed annual development programme (ADP) for fiscal year 2025–26 allocates Tk 13,202 per capita.

In simple terms, for every taka the government plans to invest in development, each citizen already owes over Tk 4 in foreign loans.

To its credit, much of the borrowing has gone into large-scale infrastructure initiatives—metro rail lines, expressways, power plants, and iconic bridges—designed to enhance long-term economic efficiency.

Many of these loans come on concessional terms, offering low interest rates and extended repayment periods.

Still, the risks are mounting.

With a weakening taka, rising global interest rates, and an uncertain international economic environment, Bangladesh's debt servicing costs are expected to increase.

This could erode fiscal space, curtail future development spending, and strain macroeconomic stability.

The country now stands at a crucial juncture. The real challenge lies not only in managing how much we borrow, but in ensuring that the investments are productive and their benefits widely shared.

Because while $483 may seem like an abstract number, the impact on livelihoods, budgets, and national priorities is all too real.