The government has initiated a process to overhaul the methodology used to calculate key macroeconomic indicators, including gross domestic product (GDP), consumer price index (CPI), inflation and the wage rate index, with the aim of making official statistics more accurate, realistic and aligned with international standards.

As part of the initiative, two expert technical committees will be formed to review existing compilation methods and recommend reforms. The government will also reassess previously published data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) to identify any inconsistencies.

The plan was announced by State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki on Saturday after a consultation meeting on CPI, inflation, wage rate index and GDP compilation organised by the BBS.

The meeting was attended by Statistics and Informatics Division (SID) Secretary Firoz Sarker, BBS Director General (current charge) Mohammad Obaidul Islam, senior officials of the SID and BBS, representatives from various ministries and divisions, and members of civil society.

Speaking to journalists, the state minister said reliable statistics are essential for development planning and sound economic policymaking, stressing the need to modernise existing methodologies to better reflect the country’s changing economic realities.

He said GDP and inflation calculations would be made more realistic, internationally acceptable and consistent with global practices. A revised framework would be prepared based on recommendations from researchers, academics, business leaders and other stakeholders.

Saki also said the government would examine whether previously published economic data contained discrepancies or distortions. However, he clarified that the exercise is not intended to assign blame or investigate individual failures, but rather to establish a more transparent and credible statistical system.

“The focus is on publishing data that reflect reality and restoring public confidence in official statistics,” he said.

BBS officials informed the meeting that inflation is currently calculated based on the prices of 749 goods and services collected from urban and rural markets nationwide, with the data undergoing multiple levels of verification before publication.

The government plans to adopt more advanced and internationally recognised methodologies to ensure that inflation figures more accurately reflect actual consumption patterns and household spending behaviour.

According to BBS officials, the proposed technical committees will conduct a comprehensive review of the existing CPI and GDP compilation systems and submit recommendations for reform. The proposals will then be discussed with stakeholders before receiving final approval.

Economists, researchers and policymakers attending the meeting also called for amendments to the Statistics Act 2013, more frequent surveys, increased investment in the statistical system and stronger data collection and analytical capacity.

They said such reforms would improve the quality and credibility of Bangladesh’s official economic statistics, strengthen development planning and help restore public trust in government data.