Half a century after independence, Bangladesh has achieved impressive progress. The country has transformed from one of the poorest nations into a global manufacturing hub for ready-made garments and is among the few developing countries capable of meeting its medical needs almost entirely through domestic pharmaceutical production.
Bangladesh will graduate from the least developed country (LDC) category in 2026 and aspires to be a high-income nation through industrialisation by 2041. Meeting this challenge requires accelerating economic transformation through diversification and innovation.
This Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR), coordinated by the OECD Development Centre with the support of the European Union (EU), and in partnership with UNCTAD, identifies concrete options for supporting Bangladesh’s sustainable development.
It calls for diversifying the export base, leveraging digitalisation to address persistent fragilities, developing a strategic network of international partnerships to foster a more innovation- and quality-based industrial development model. It also advocates for a new pact based on shared responsibilities between the national government, the private sector and international partners to shift to a new development phase and ensure sustainable, smooth and irreversible graduation.
