Bangladesh vs Nepal
Bangladesh vs Nepal: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 42% of GDP in Bangladesh and 47.4% of GDP in Nepal, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Nepal, by 5.4 percentage points, or 1.13 times that in Bangladesh.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Nepal has been higher since 2018, when it overtook Bangladesh.
- In 2025, Bangladesh ranked 98 and Nepal ranked 86 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Bangladesh at 49.4% of GDP and Nepal at 47.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Bangladesh | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 | 47.4 |
| 2024 | 41 | 47.9 |
| 2023 | 39.7 | 47 |
| 2022 | 37.9 | 42.7 |
| 2021 | 35.6 | 43.3 |
| 2020 | 34.5 | 43.3 |
| 2019 | 32 | 34 |
| 2018 | 29.6 | 31.1 |
| 2017 | 28.3 | 25 |
| 2016 | 27.7 | 25 |
| 2015 | 28.2 | 25.7 |
| 2014 | 28.7 | 27.6 |
| 2013 | 28.3 | 31.9 |
| 2012 | 29.1 | 34.5 |
| 2011 | 29.4 | 32.4 |
| 2010 | 29.6 | 35.4 |
| 2009 | 33 | 39.5 |
| 2008 | 33.9 | 36.8 |
| 2007 | 35 | 37.9 |
| 2006 | 35.3 | 42.9 |
| 2005 | 35.6 | 45.1 |
| 2004 | 36.6 | 51.3 |
| 2003 | 37 | 53 |
| 2002 | – | 51.8 |
| 2001 | – | 50.8 |
| 2000 | – | 50.8 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Bangladesh | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 40.5 | 49.4 |
| 2027 | 40.4 | 50.7 |
| 2028 | 42.8 | 51 |
| 2029 | 45.5 | 49.9 |
| 2030 | 47.6 | 48.8 |
| 2031 | 49.4 | 47.7 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Bangladesh vs Nepal
Health
- Life expectancyBangladesh: 74.7 years in 2023Nepal: 70.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBangladesh: 3.1 per 100 live births in 2024Nepal: 2.5 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBangladesh: 22.8 per 1,000 live births in 2023Nepal: 21.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterBangladesh: 59.1% in 2022Nepal: 16.1% in 2022
- DepressionBangladesh: 4.11% in 2017Nepal: 3.61% in 2017
- Suicide rateBangladesh: 6 per 100,000 people in 2017Nepal: 8.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBangladesh: 172 million people in 2023Nepal: 29.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthBangladesh: 1.21% a year in 2023Nepal: -0.14% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBangladesh: 2.16 births per woman in 2023Nepal: 1.98 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBangladesh: 33.2% in 2025Nepal: 67% in 2025
- Median ageBangladesh: 25.3 years in 2023Nepal: 24.7 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBangladesh: 6.3% in 2023Nepal: 6.4% in 2023
- Net migration rateBangladesh: -3.2 per 1,000 people in 2023Nepal: -13.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBangladesh: 0.81% of GDP in 2025Nepal: 0.97% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBangladesh: $3.67B in 2025Nepal: $429M in 2025
- Military spending per personBangladesh: $22 in 2025Nepal: $14 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBangladesh: 7.1% of government spending in 2025Nepal: 4.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBangladesh: 227,000 people in 2020Nepal: 112,000 people in 2020
- National powerBangladesh: 1.01% of world capability in 2022Nepal: 0.18% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBangladesh: 0.32% of the labour force in 2020Nepal: 1.4% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBangladesh: 32 million TIV in 2025Nepal: 6 million TIV in 2025