AI gap puts Bangladesh at risk: WB

Bangladesh risks falling behind in the global AI revolution, with low preparedness putting its young workforce at risk of economic disruption, according to the World Bank’s latest South Asia Development Update (October 2025).

The report describes artificial intelligence (AI) as a “transformative general-purpose technology” that can drive productivity and economic growth but only in countries with robust digital infrastructure, skilled human capital, and strong institutional support.

While South Asia is rapidly adopting AI, Bangladesh lags well behind the regional average, largely due to its reliance on agriculture, garment manufacturing, and informal services—sectors currently less impacted by automation but increasingly vulnerable as AI spreads worldwide.

World Bank experts warn that young, moderately educated workers, especially those in entry-level white-collar roles such as data entry, customer service, and IT support, face the greatest risk of disruption.

WB Chief Economist for South Asia Franziska Ohnsorge stressed urgent policies to help workers shift across sectors and move into AI-complementary roles, maximising the economy’s growth potential.

The report highlights digital infrastructure as a major bottleneck: only 62% of the population has internet access, high-speed broadband is mostly urban, and the 32-percentage-point rural-urban gap in internet access is the region’s largest among emerging markets.

Meanwhile, education and skill-development systems lag behind AI demands, creating a shortage of qualified digital professionals and fuelling a “brain drain” of South Asian AI talent abroad.

Despite these challenges, the report sees a major opportunity: Bangladesh’s young population could become a competitive advantage if the government invests in AI training, digital literacy, and infrastructure like reliable broadband and electricity.

According to the World Bank update, human-AI collaboration is strong in South Asia in fields like teaching, healthcare, and law, providing a way to mitigate job losses.

The update suggests that Bangladesh must accelerate AI readiness or risk falling behind neighbours like India in AI-driven growth.