Bangladesh Data Book

Last update: August 15, 2024

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

ISO 3166-1 codes	Alpha 2: BD, Alpha 3: BGD, Numeric: 50
Administrative units	Divisions, districts, upazilas, unions
Agricultural seasons	Kharif (Apr-Sep), Rabi (Oct-Mar), Boro (Dec-March)
Major crops	Rice, jute, wheat, sugarcane, tea

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: Upazlias.

Admin 4: Unions, the lowest administrative units.

Other 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.

Units of measure

All FEWS NET crop data are converted to metric tons and hectares.

1.01605 Bales = 5.60 MT
2.47105 Acre = 1 Hectare
1.01605 Maund = 27.22 MT

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

Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture: https://moa.gov.bd/site/page/8ad8ae11-00e2-4a90-%208a5a-af2a8d4d8ca5/Crop-Situation

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 April. Crops reported under the annual season 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 April.

Example: 2015 refers to April 2015 to April 2016.

Season	Start Date	End Date	Example
Annual	April 1	March 31	2015 = April 1, 2015 - March 31, 2016
Kharif	July 1	September 30	Kharif 2015 = July 1, 2015 - September 31, 2015
Rabi	October 1	March 31, Year +1	Rabi 2015 = October 1, 2015 - March 31, 2016
Boro	December 1	May 31, Year +1	Boro 2015 = December 1, 2015 - May 31, 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. Among the top 5 producers globally.
Jute: A major export crop known as "golden fiber." Second-largest producer worldwide.
Wheat: Important cereal crop.
Sugarcane: Significant for the sugar industry.
Tea: Significant export crop. Among the top 10 producers globally.
Other Crops: Pulses, oilseeds, fruits (mango, jackfruit, bananas), vegetables, and spices.

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:

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.

Name	Season	Crop variety	Production system
Aus	Usually sown in the pre-monsoon season (March/April) Grown during the Kharif season Harvested between July and August	Photoperiod insensitive Thermosensitive, perform best under summer conditions Dwarf in stature Grown under rainfed conditions and are prone to both drought and flooding Low yield and poor quality Growing period of 80–120 days	Broadcast
Aman	They are sown (broadcast) in March or transplanted following the Aus harvest Mature throughout the Kharif season Flower in October/November Generally cultivated December-January	Traditionally the main rice crop in Bangladesh Photoperiod sensitive Longer growth duration (120–160 days) means they are more productive than the Aus rices Produce high-quality, fine white grains	Broadcast and transplanted
Boro	Sown in October/November Transplanted around December/January Generally cultivated March-May	Photoperiod insensitive Adapted to mild winter conditions, showing some degree of cold tolerance Traditionally, have only been grown on land that retains sufficient water throughout the Rabi season to support crop growth; increasingly adopted with improved irrigation High yield	Broadcast and transplanted; similar to transplanted Aman both in their method of cultivation and crop habit

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 crop calendar, 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.