I wish Pakistan well but it is almost inevitable that BD will be larger within a decade than Pakistan in overall GDP.
Pakistan has no ability soon to grow anymore than 4-5% while BD hits 7% plus.
However, Pakistan is likely over the long term to again catch up and overtake BD due to it's
much more massive natural resources and close alliance with China.
It is good for Pakistan that it can focus on BD as a target as that will help it to grow it's economy better
than otherwise.
While I wish both country the best of luck and good health, I must again say, statistics prove that Bangladesh is unlikely to catch up to Pakistan anytime soon. Infact, the only way for BD to cover Pakistan's 70 billion dollar lead within a few years is if Pakistan stops growing (0%). Not to mention that IMF statistics show that Pakistan's lead is only going to grow.
The assertion that Pakistan won't have the ability to grow passed the 4-5% mark, is actually the complete opposite from the truth. Pakistan is actually on the verge of hitting 6% growth, which the IMF predicts will happen by FY 2017-18, and 7-8% by FY 2019-20.
I will repeat myself one last time, the gap between Pakistan and BD is going to grow, not shrink.
http://statisticstimes.com/economy/projected-world-gdp-ranking.php
Forgive me, if I don't make sense, or can't get my point across. I have the flu right now, so
I feel as if people don't seem to understand how economic growth is calculated, or even how to use simple math to do basic calcuations. Percentages, and totals alone can be extremely misleading, and need to be contextualized.
BD grew from a $194 billion to $202 billion with 6.55% growth; in real terms, that's a growth of $8 billion. Pakistan grew from $247 billion to $271 billion with only a 4.5% growth rate; in real terms, that's a growth of $24 billion. But without context, these statistics are worthless. Why? because a higher GDP will result in a higher growth number, which is a misleading way to measure a country's health.
A higher growth rate doesn't mean a nation is making major strides in development as compared to other countries, and the same goes for over all total gdp growth numbers.
A simple example, The Canadian growth rate was 2.4% in 2014, which is actually a decently healthy number, and shows that Canada was doing well. Does that mean BD is going to do better than Canada anytime soon? Or that BD's 7% growth rate will allow BD to overtake Canada's near 2 trillion GDP soon? No it doesn't.
Likewise, China's GDP most recent growth rate was 6.9%, lower than the 7.5% it needs, which is actually BAD for China's economy. It shows a slowdown in China's economy, meaning that China is losing jobs, and it's exports are falling. A recent report said that China is going to fire 1.8 million people, simply because it doesn't have the money or jobs to keep them employed in their current workplaces. That's WITH a 6.9% growth rate.
With Pakistan? Pakistan needs a 6.5% growth, in order for it's economy to rapidly accelerate, and it is going to happen within the next 2 years. Pakistan went from a 3.5% growth a few years ago, to 5% growth today, meaning that Pakistan's economy is not only recovering, but is almost completely back on track. Meanwhile, BD's economy needs 7-8% growth, in order for it to experience rapid growth.
My point is, don't get hung up on a single percentage, you need to put things into perspective. Comparing GDP percentages is not a good thing, because every country has different requirements for rapid growth. And as countries get richer, that percentage is inevitably going to start getting less and less, especially if they're export countries transitioning into mainly consumerism.