Bangladesh has three more years to graduate from least developed country status.

The South Asian nation was poised to lose the classification, given by the United Nations to countries facing the greatest structural barriers to sustainable development, such as extreme poverty, later this month. Last week, however, the UN General Assembly greenlit an extension of the so-called “preparatory period,” the transition between the UN’s decision that a country qualifies to leave the LDC list and its actual departure, until 2029. Bangladesh is expected to use the extra time to fast-track internal reforms, including those outlined in the government’s National Roadmap for Smooth, Sustainable and Irreversible LDC Graduation, and regularly report to the UN Committee for Development Policy.

The news comes as Bangladesh contends with severe economic, security and labor pressures following its February 2026 elections.…