Political unrest cost Bangladesh $2.2 bn in 2015

Bangladesh has incurred financial losses worth $2.2 billion in the first quarter of this year as a result of the ongoing political unrest in the country, a World Bank report said on Sunday.

"Economic growth would have been between 6.4 and 6.6 percent in the ongoing 2014-15 fiscal, if there were no political turmoil. Our estimates are it would be at 5.6 percent," World Bank Dhaka office's Chief Economist Zahid Hussain told reporters here after releasing the "Bangladesh Development Update Report 2015".

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led 20-party opposition alliance, which boycotted the country's general elections last year, has enforced a non-stop nationwide blockade since January 5 demanding fresh parliamentary polls under a non-party caretaker government.

According to the World Bank report, industries in Bangladesh faced 25 percent loss, service sector 68 percent and agriculture seven percent, bdnews24.com reported.

The financial loss to the unrest was calculated to be about one percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.