58
The Economic Growth Drivers of Urban Areas
Box 4.2 The Strategically Located Urban Centers of Comilla, Bogra, and Jessore (continued) Figure B4.2.1 Manufacturing Employment in Comilla, Bogra, and Jessore by Sector, 2009 100
4 3
4 2 4
8
Percentage of nonfarm employment
7 80
8
13 12
10
5 6 4
60
30
43 23 40
20
17
17
8
23
11 0
8
Comilla Garments Ceramics Textiles Fabricated metals
15
9 Bogra Furniture Publishing Basic metals Other
Jessore Chemicals Tobacco Food and beverages
Source: Based on data from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2009. Note: Comilla is a City Corporation. Bogra and Jessore are municipalities (pourashava).
Bogra, with a population of about 350,000, is a municipality located in the center of the north-western region. It is the gateway to North Bengal. About 35 percent of jobs in Bogra are in manufacturing. A high concentration of manufacturing employment is in ceramics (23 percent), followed by agro-processing (mostly tobacco), chemicals, textiles, basic metals, and furniture. Jessore, with a population of about 202,000, is a municipality located in the south-west, the least industrialized region, but it benefits from proximity to an important transit route to India. About 34 percent of jobs in Jessore are in manufacturing. Ceramics account for the largest share of manufacturing jobs (30 percent), followed by textiles, agro-processing (mostly food and beverages), publishing, furniture manufacturing, tobacco, and fabricated metal products. a. Population estimates are based on 2011 data from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics as reported in Brinkhoff 2011.
The Economic Geography of the Garment Sector The garment sector is a thriving, export-oriented, urban-based industry (Uddin and Jahed 2007). It is Bangladesh’s largest export industry, accounting for 40 percent of formal industrial employment. The sector has been highly successful in increasing economic density since the first garment firm was Bangladesh • http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9859-3