Inflation is Bangladesh’s biggest concern: WEF

Inflation has been identified as the biggest risk for Bangladesh in 2025, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report released on Wednesday.

In its Global Risks Report 2025, the WEF, an independent international organization, said extreme weather events – such as floods and heatwaves – and pollution are two other significant threats to South Asia’s economy.

The report shows that Bangladesh is one of the 10 countries where pollution was considered one of the top three threats.

The report said that especially in densely populated countries such as Bangladesh and India, pollution has become one of the most important challenges to address.

“An ecological transformation aware of pollution is needed,” he added.

The latest WEF report also pointed out that unemployment and the economic downturn are the two remaining challenges facing Bangladesh, which is grappling with persistently high inflation, devaluation of its currency, declining foreign exchange reserves and slowing investment and business growth.

The 12-month average inflation in Bangladesh increased to 10.34 percent in 2024. with 9.48 percent a year earlier.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the average annual inflation in 2022 was 7.7%.

The Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a prominent think tank in Bangladesh, contributed to the findings of the WEF report.

The Global Risks Report 2025 highlights an increasingly fragmented global landscape where growing geopolitical, environmental, social and technological challenges threaten stability and progress.

The WEF report includes insights from over 900 experts from around the world.

“As we enter 2025, the global outlook is increasingly fragmented along geopolitical, environmental, social, economic and technological lines,” it said.

“Over the past year, we have seen the expansion and escalation of conflict, multiple extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, widespread social and political polarization, and continued technological advances accelerating the spread of false or misleading information.”

“Optimism is limited because the risk of miscalculation or misjudgment by political and military actors is high. We appear to be living in the most divided times since the Cold War,” the report says.

The latest Global Risks Report found that more than half of respondents – 52 percent – ​​anticipate an uncertain global outlook over the next two years, a similar percentage to the previous year.

Another 31 percent expect turbulence, and 5 percent anticipate a turbulent outlook.

“Combining these three response categories shows an increase of four percentage points compared to last year, indicating a more pessimistic outlook for the world by 2027,” it said.

Compared to this two-year forecast, the situation is worsening in the 10-year horizon, with 62 percent of respondents expecting turbulent or turbulent times, he added.

“This long-term outlook remains similar to last year’s survey results in terms of its negative level, reflecting respondents’ skepticism that current social mechanisms and governance institutions can cope with and repair the instability arising from the threats we face today.”