Bangladesh Data Book

Last update: August 4, 2025

This page contains information about some of the data available in the FEWS NET Data Explorer (FDE) for Bangladesh. This is not a comprehensive guide.

For information about using the filters and fields for specific domains in the FDE, see Choose a Data Domain.

Summary table

Country food security context

Statistical reporting units

Bangladesh usually uses administrative units as their statistical reporting units.

Administrative (admin) units are the geographical areas into which a country is divided. FEWS NET uses the following terminology: National boundary = admin 0, First sub-national division = admin 1 (e.g., states in the United States), Second sub-national division = admin 2 (e.g., counties in the United States), and so on.

Admin 1: Divisions.

Admin 2: Districts.

Admin 3: Upazilas.

Admin 4: Unions, the lowest administrative units.

Previous structure of admin units: Historically, the administrative hierarchy was defined by Divisions containing Regions containing Districts. The ‘Region’ administrative area is no longer used in Bangladesh, and where District-level information is available, we have not recorded the Region.

In general:

• Data from 1982 – 2003 is reported by Region.

• Data from 2003 – 2016 is reported by District.

We have an outside understanding of the division-region definitions as they existed for the years 1982 - 2015, and have included the appropriate division for the reported data, even if the source table does not provide it.

Crop data

Explore our crop data.

View our documentation on using the Crop Domain.

Crop estimate data sources

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: https://bbs.gov.bd/site/page/3e838eb6-30a2-4709-be85-40484b0c16c6/Yearbook-of-Agricultural-Statistics Each year’s crop statistics are presented in a Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics, available from this source. The Yearbook contains “estimates of crop production, crop damage, meteorological information, agricultural inputs (seed, fertilizer, monthly agricultural wage, irrigation), land use, results of Agriculture Census, livestock, forestry, fisheries, crop prices, exports and imports of agricultural products & inputs etc. The Publication provides annual estimates of area and production of 146 crops (major and minor) among which 6 are major crops (Aus, Aman, Boro, Wheat, Potato and Jute)”.

Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture: https://moa.gov.bd/site/page/8ad8ae11-00e2-4a90-%208a5a-af2a8d4d8ca5/Crop-Situation This source provides current, national-level crop statistic information in annual “Agriculture at a Glance” publications, and also provides current commodity price estimates, as well as a range of agronomic-related information.

Copies of the original source documents can be located in our document management system.

Year and season definition

There are two main growing seasons in Bangladesh:

• Kharif Season (Spring/Summer): Crops are planted, grown, and harvested from July to October.

• Rabi Season (Winter): Crops are planted, grown, and harvested from October to March.

In addition,

• Boro crops are sown from December to March of the following year.

• A 'sub-season', pre-Kharif, is defined, but not used to report in these sources.

Annual season in the context of Bangladesh refers to the period from April to the end of March in the next year. Crops reported under annual or cropping-year designations are those whose production occurred and is reported within that timeframe.

The year provided in the source refers to the time period from April to end-March.

Example: 2016 refers to April 2015 to March 2016.

Primary crops

Major Crops are defined as Aus Rice, Boro Rice, Aman Rice, Potato, Wheat, and Jute.

• Rice: Dominates agriculture, accounting for nearly 80% of the total cropped area. Bangladesh is among the top 5 producers globally.

• Jute: A major export crop known as "golden fiber." Bangladesh is the second-largest producer worldwide.

• Wheat: The country’s second most important cereal crop.

• Sugarcane: Significant for meeting the national requirement for sugar.

• Tea: Significant export crop. Bangladesh is among the top 10 producers globally.

• Other Crops: Pulses, oilseeds, fruits (mango, jackfruit, bananas), vegetables, and spices.

Note: Binnidana is a quinoa-type grain introduced recently in Bangladesh. It was first reported in the 2018-2019 crop reports and is a Rabi crop fetching good prices in the capital. For more information, you can refer to the following resources:

• IntechOpen

• Daily Sun

• Dhaka Crop

Aus, Aman, and Boro Rice

FEWS NET treats Aus, Aman, and Boro as the same crop (rice) being cultivated under different production systems. Bangladeshi sources treat Aus, Aman, and Boro as different crops reflecting a mixture of season, crop variety, and production systems.

Units of measure

Most original-source crop statistics are reported by acre and metric ton. A few crops are reported by “bale”, “quintal”, and “taka”, but a conversion to acres, “hectors” and/or metric tons is often provided with these. All FEWS NET crop data are converted to metric tons and hectares.

• 1.01605 Bales = 5.60 Metric tons

• 2.47105 Acre = 1 Hectare (“hector”)

• 1.01605 Maund = 27.22 Metric tons

Crop estimation methodology

• Survey method: Major crops are surveyed using direct observation of agricultural fields and facilities. All other crops are surveyed by interviewing farmers about recent planting/harvesting activity.

• Sampling locations: Approximately 10,000 sampling locations are used, visited four times a year, to estimate agricultural data.

• Crop calendar: Bangladesh has a well-defined set of crop-specific crop calendars, and surveyors use this to accurately capture each crop's production and area planted.

• Yield calculation: When ‘Yields’ are provided by the Agricultural Yearbook sources, they are calculated by precisely measuring a small subset of the sampling locations. When Yields have not been provided, they are calculated based on reported area and production.

• Crop varieties: In some cases, source reporting provides additional information on local crop varieties, or crops distinguished by local planting practices. Not all of this crop information has been recorded by FEWS NET. Examples include Local, Pajam, Broadcast, and HYV (hybrid) for Aman Rice; Broadcast, Local, Transplanted, and HYV for Aus Rice; Local and HYV for Boro Rice; Local, HYV, and Indian for Potato.

Data entry standards

• NA: The crop was not grown this year.

• NC: Data was not collected by the source for this crop in this year.

• 0: No area, yield or quantity produced.

Data correction

Steps have been taken to identify and correct unintentional or obvious errors in the data, such as misalignments, typos, and misreported figures.