Every December, The Economist chooses a country of the year. The winner is not the richest, happiest or most virtuous place, but the one that has improved the most in the previous 12 months. Like every year, The Economist has selected the best country of the year this year. According to the results, Bangladesh is the best country of the year for 2024.
There were five countries in the final list to choose the best country this time. Apart from Bangladesh, Syria, Argentina, South Africa and Poland are on the list. In the end, the best were chosen in a ‘heated debate’ among The Economist correspondents—where Bangladesh was selected as the best country of the year and runner-up Syria.
The report says about Bangladesh, ‘Our winner this time is Bangladesh, which has overthrown a dictator. In August, a student-led street movement ousted Sheikh Hasina, who had ruled the country of 175 million people for 15 years. As the daughter of the country’s independence hero, she once led economic growth. But then he began to crack down, rigging elections, jailing opponents and ordering security forces to shoot protesters. Huge sums of money were embezzled during his rule.
“Bangladesh has a history of retaliatory violence during power transitions. The main opposition party, the bnp, is venal. Islamic extremism is a threat. But so far their transformation has been promising. There is an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, which has the support of students, the military, business and civil society. This government has reestablished order and stabilized the economy.”
