Share of global plastic waste imports in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Share of global plastic waste imports was 0.1% in 2015. ◆ Volatile
Share of global plastic waste imports in Bangladesh, 1989–2015
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of global plastic waste imports in Bangladesh is 0.1%, measured in 2015.
That represents a change of up 218.6% on the previous year and up 752.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Bangladesh peaked at 0.2% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1995.
That places Bangladesh 55th out of 183 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global plastic waste imports in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 0.2% | — |
| 1990 | 0.2% | -31.9% |
| 1991 | 0.2% | -5.9% |
| 1992 | 0.0% | -94.9% |
| 1993 | 0.0% | -79.4% |
| 1995 | 0.0% | -81.1% |
| 1996 | 0.0% | +770.5% |
| 1997 | 0.0% | -59.2% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | +135.3% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | -80.3% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | +214.3% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | +165.0% |
| 2003 | 0.0% | -39.4% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | +64.4% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | +138.0% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | +29.6% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | -43.9% |
| 2008 | 0.0% | +94.9% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | +28.9% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | +87.6% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | -18.6% |
| 2012 | 0.0% | -27.8% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | +32.7% |
| 2015 | 0.1% | +218.6% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 0.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.0%, 14.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 0.1% is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.0%, 2.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global plastic waste imports in Bangladesh changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | +770.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 8 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More environment data for Bangladesh
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.59 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.3 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.236 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.67 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -2.43 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global plastic waste imports in Bangladesh?
- Share of global plastic waste imports in Bangladesh was 0.1% in 2015, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 0.2% in 1989.
- What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1995.
- How does Bangladesh rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Bangladesh ranks 55th out of 183 countries with data for 2015.
- Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is up 752.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.