Bangladesh's per capita income went up to $848 in the current fiscal year from $816 last year, but is still way short of the $1,006 needed to pull the country up to the middle-income bracket.

The nation aims to reach the middle income country category by 2021, according to government's perspective plan.

The required per capita income at that time would be $1,300, meaning a growth rate of 7-5 percent to 8 percent is needed every fiscal year, said Zahid Hussain, senior economist of the World Bank.

Bangladesh managed a growth rate of 6.3 percent against a target of 7 percent this fiscal year, according to provisional data from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

The previous year the growth rate was 6.71 percent, signifying the country went backwards with respect to its target of graduating to a middle income country status.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 4th June 2012