Editing Bengal (section)

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Bangladesh|Economy of West Bengal}}
[[File:2.শাপলা চত্বর.jpg|thumb|Downtown [[Dhaka]]|310x310px]]
[[File:New Town Skyline captured from Bengal Intelligent Park, Saltlake, Kolkata (1 of 2 photos).jpg|thumb|Downtown [[Kolkata]]|314x314px]]
The [[Ganges Delta]] provided advantages of fertile soil, ample water, and an abundance of fish, wildlife, and fruit.<ref name="hp" /> Living standards for Bengal's elite were relatively better than other parts of the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="hp" /> Between 400 and 1200, Bengal had a well-developed economy in terms of land ownership, agriculture, livestock, shipping, trade, commerce, taxation, and banking.<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Kamrunnesa Islam|title=Economic History of Bengal|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29147/|location=SOAS, University of London|degree=PhD|doi=10.25501/SOAS.00029147|year=1996}}</ref> The apparent vibrancy of the Bengal economy in the beginning of the 15th century is attributed to the end of tribute payments to the [[Delhi Sultanate]], which ceased after the creation of the [[Bengal Sultanate]] and stopped the outflow of wealth. [[Ma Huan]]'s travelogue recorded a booming shipbuilding industry and significant [[international trade]] in Bengal.

In 1338, [[Ibn Battuta]] noticed that the silver taka was the most popular currency in the region instead of the Islamic [[dinar]].<ref name="Blanchard2005">{{cite book |author=Ian Blanchard |title=Mining, Metallurgy and Minting in the Middle Ages: Continuing Afo-European supremacy, 1250–1450 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=um-EXNlRKO4C&pg=PA1264 |year=2005 |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |isbn=978-3-515-08704-9 |page=1264}}</ref> In 1415, members of [[Admiral Zheng He]]'s entourage also noticed the dominance of the taka. The currency was the most important symbol of sovereignty for the [[Sultan of Bengal]]. The Sultanate of Bengal established an estimated 27 [[Mint (facility)|mints]] in provincial capitals across the kingdom.<ref name="banglapedia2">{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Coins |title=Coins |website=Banglapedia |access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="banglapedia3">{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Currency_System |title=Currency System |website=Banglapedia |access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref> These provincial capitals were known as Mint Towns.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Mint_Towns |title=Mint Towns |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> These Mint Towns formed an integral aspect of governance and administration in Bengal.

The taka continued to be issued in [[Mughal Bengal]], which inherited the sultanate's legacy. As Bengal became more prosperous and integrated into the [[world economy]] under Mughal rule, the taka replaced shell currency in rural areas and became the standardised [[legal tender]]. It was also used in commerce with the [[Dutch East India Company]], the [[John Law's Company|French East India Company]], the [[Danish East India Company]] and the [[British East India Company]]. Under Mughal rule, Bengal was the centre of the worldwide [[muslin]] trade. The [[muslin trade in Bengal]] was patronised by the Mughal imperial court. Muslin from Bengal was worn by aristocratic ladies in courts as far away as Europe, Persia and Central Asia. The treasury of the [[Nawab of Bengal]] was the biggest source of revenue for the imperial Mughal court in Delhi. Bengal had a large [[shipbuilding]] industry. The shipbuilding output of Bengal during the 16th and 17th centuries stood at 223,250{{nbsp}}tons annually, which was higher than the volume of shipbuilding in the nineteen colonies of North America between 1769 and 1771.<ref name="ray174" />

Historically, Bengal has been the industrial leader of the subcontinent. Mughal Bengal saw the emergence of a proto-industrial economy backed up by textiles and gunpowder. The organised early modern economy flourished till the beginning of British rule in the mid 18th-century, when the region underwent radical and revolutionary changes in government, trade, and regulation. The British displaced the indigenous ruling class and transferred much of the region's wealth back to the colonial metropole in Britain. In the 19th century, the British began investing in railways and limited industrialisation. However, the Bengali economy was dominated by trade in raw materials during much of the colonial period, particularly the [[jute trade]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Railway | title=Railway |website=Banglapedia}}</ref>

The [[partition of India]] changed the economic geography of the region. Calcutta in West Bengal inherited a thriving industrial base from the colonial period, particularly in terms of jute processing. East Pakistan soon developed its industrial base, including the [[Adamjee Jute Mills|world's largest jute mill]]. In 1972, the newly independent government of Bangladesh nationalised 580 industrial plants. These industries were later privatised in the late 1970s as Bangladesh moved towards a market-oriented economy. [[Economic liberalization|Liberal reforms]] in 1991 paved the way for a major expansion of Bangladesh's private sector industry, including in telecoms, natural gas, textiles, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, steel and shipbuilding. In 2022, Bangladesh was the second largest economy in South Asia after India.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh/bangladesh-ranked-41st-largest-economy-in-2019-all-over-the-world-study-1684078 |title=Bangladesh ranked 41st largest economy in 2019 all over the world |work=The Daily Star |date=8 January 2019 |access-date=2 October 2022}}</ref><ref name="scroll.in">{{cite news |author=Sayeed Iftekhar Ahmed |url=https://scroll.in/article/1019006/where-do-bangladesh-and-pakistan-stand-after-50-years-of-separation#:~:text=Bangladesh%20outpaces%20Pakistan%20across%20all,the%20world's%20fastest%2Dgrowing%20economies |title=Where do Bangladesh and Pakistan stand after 50 years of separation? |work=Scroll.in |date=18 March 2022 |access-date=2 October 2022}}</ref>

The region is one of the largest rice producing areas in the world, with West Bengal being India's largest rice producer and Bangladesh being the world's fourth largest rice producer.<ref name="importantindia">{{cite web |url=http://www.importantindia.com/10116/major-rice-producing-states-in-india/ |website=importantindia.com |title=7 Major Rice Producing States in India – Important India |access-date=7 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129120550/http://www.importantindia.com/10116/major-rice-producing-states-in-india/ |archive-date=29 November 2016 |url-status=dead |date=21 January 2014}}</ref> Three Bengali economists have been Nobel laureates, including [[Amartya Sen]] and [[Abhijit Banerjee]] who won the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics]] and [[Muhammad Yunus]] who won the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
! Bengal
! [[GDP|Real Economy (Nominal <br /> GDP Per Capita)]] in 2023–2024)
! Nominal Economy <br /> (Nominal GDP in 2023–2024)
! Population <br /> (2021)
|-
| ''[[Bangladesh]]'s [[Dhaka]] ([[Dhaka|Dhaka Municipal Corporation Area]])''
| $5,000
| $70 Billion
| 1.4 crore
|-
| ''[[West Bengal]]'s [[Kolkata|Kolkata District]] ([[Kolkata|Kolkata Municipal Corporation Area]])''
| $4,400
| $20 Billion
| 45 lakh
|-
| [[Bangladesh]] ([[East Bengal]])
| $2,700
| $460 Billion
| 17 crore
|-
| [[India]]'s [[West Bengal]]
| $2,400
| $240 Billion
| 10 crore
|- 
|}

===Stock markets===
*[[Dhaka Stock Exchange]]
*[[Chittagong Stock Exchange]]
*[[Calcutta Stock Exchange]]

===Ports and harbours===
*[[Port of Chittagong]]
*[[Port of Kolkata]]
*[[Port of Mongla]]
*[[Haldia Port|Port of Haldia]]
*[[Port of Payra]]
*[[Port of Pangaon]]
*[[Farakka Port|Port of Farakka]]
*[[Port of Narayanganj]]
*[[Port of Ashuganj]]
*[[Port of Barisal]]
*[[Matarbari Port]]
*Land port of [[Benapole]]-[[Petrapole]]

===Chambers of commerce===
*[[Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry]]
*[[Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry]]
*[[Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry]] (FBCCI)
*[[Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry]]
*[[Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry]] (DCCI)
*[[Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka|Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry]] (MCCI)

=== Intra-Bengal trade ===
Bangladesh and India are the largest trading partners in South Asia, with two-way trade valued at an estimated US$16&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://theprint.in/diplomacy/delhi-dhaka-trade-becoming-one-sided-need-to-balance-it-says-bangladesh-fm-on-india-visit/1004819/ |title=Delhi-Dhaka trade becoming one-sided, need to balance it, says Bangladesh FM on India visit |work=ThePrint |date=21 June 2022}}</ref> Most of this trade relationship is centred on some of the world's busiest [[land port]]s on the [[Bangladesh-India border]]. The [[Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal]] Initiative seeks to boost trade through a Regional Motor Vehicles Agreement.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aric.adb.org/initiative/bangladesh-bhutan-india-and-nepal-motor-vehicles-agreement |title=Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement Initiative}}</ref>