About Bangladesh and Germany

Key Information of Bangladesh and Germany

People’s Republic of Bangladesh is the eighth most populous country in the world with a population 166.50 million until 2020 has an area of 147570 square kilometer. Bangladesh is a south Asian country shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, Myanmar to the southeast, and the Bay of Bengal to the south.  A pro-democracy movement in East Pakistan that thrived on Bengali nationalism and self-determination led to the Liberation War and eventually the emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign and independent nation in 1971. Bangladesh is the home to the world’s largest river delta (Brahmaputra and the Ganges River) and one of the largest mangrove forests. Dhaka is the capital and largest city, nation’s economic, political, and cultural hub and Chittagong is the largest seaport and second-largest city. Over 98 percent of the people speak in Bangla and English is widely spoken as well.

Bangladesh has been among the fastest growing economies in the world over the past decade, supported by demographic dividend, strong ready-made garment (RMG) exports, foreign remittance earnings by workers and stable macroeconomic conditions.  Principle exports are Readymade garments, frozen foods (shrimps), leather, leather products, jute, jute products, tea, ceramics, textile fabrics, home textile, chemical product, light engineering products including bi-cycle. Potential business sectors are agri-Business Sector, Garments & Textiles, ICT, leather & leather goods, Electric, Plastic, Light engineering, ship building, tourism, frozen, renewable energy, ceramic, power, medical equipment and health care sector.  More than 47.5% of population dependent on agriculture for livelihood. Stable political conditions and supportive policies of government attract foreign investors for business.

Germany is the 2nd largest exporting partner and one of the major socio-economic development partners of the Bangladesh. The volume of bilateral trade is continuously growing, reaching a total of 6.6 billion euros in 2018. Textiles account for over 90 percent of German imports from Bangladesh. Other exports to Germany include frozen foods and leather goods. Germany’s main exports to Bangladesh are machinery (more than 50 percent of total exports), chemical products (17 percent) and electrical goods (11 percent).

German companies have invested in Bangladesh, particularly in the textile, transport, energy, logistics sectors and the building materials industry. A bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement has been in force since September 1986 and a double taxation agreement since 1993. As one of most emerging market Bangladesh offers ample opportunity for German investment.