Bangladesh armed forces account for 6 per cent of Bangladesh’s annual budget, totaling $3.2 billion in the year 2017-2018 . The 2018-19 defence budget also amounts to 6.2% of total annual government expenditure and about 1.3% of GDP.
Budgetary documents published by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on 7 June show that the new expenditure marks a 10% increase over the revised allocation for 2017-18 of BDT264 billion.
In 2009, Bangladesh introduced “Forces Goal 2030,” which called for a massive expansion and modernization of the Bangladesh Army, Navy, and Air Force. The long-term goal is to build a three-dimensional force capable of conducting multi-platform warfare.
The new military budget allocates BTD279.1 billion for “non-development expenditure”, including military salaries and costs for maintenance and operations, and BTD11.52 billion for “development expenditure”, including military acquisitions. These allocations represent increases over last year of 9.6% and 24% respectively.
