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Published : 22 May 2025, 02:57 AM
Bangladesh has recently posted record-breaking remittance figures, a development typically celebrated by policymakers as a sign of economic resilience. But behind the numbers lies a growing concern: the sharp decline in the number of Bangladeshi workers heading abroad—the very engine that drives those remittance inflows.
A closer look at the data reveals a troubling paradox.
While expatriate income surged, the number of outbound migrant workers dropped by 22 percent over the past year, signalling deeper structural issues in Bangladesh’s overseas employment strategy.
In March 2025, Bangladeshi migrants sent home $3.29 billion, the highest single-month remittance in the country’s history, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.
The previous highs were recorded in December 2024 ($2.64 billion) and February 2025 ($2.53 billion).
Over the first nine months of FY2025—July to March—remittance inflows totalled $2.17 trillion, marking a 27.6 percent year-on-year growth, up from $1.70 trillion during the same period the previous fiscal year.
But those gains have come even as Bangladesh’s labour outflow shrinks sharply.
22% DROP IN MIGRANT WORKERS IN ONE YEAR
According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), 1.3 million workers left Bangladesh for overseas jobs in 2023. In 2024, that figure plunged to 1.01 million—a drop of 293,484 people, or 22 percent.
Strikingly, even in 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, more workers went abroad: 1.13 million.
BMET figures show that in the first two months of 2025, only 160,303 workers left the country. Of these, 75 percent went to Saudi Arabia, a market that remains accessible but highly competitive.
Industry insiders point to several factors behind the decline: lack of worker upskilling, rising global restrictions, and persistent issues with corruption and unethical practices within Bangladesh’s migration system.
MARKET CLOSURES AND QUOTA WASTAGE
Data across multiple destination countries paints a bleak picture.
In the United Arab Emirates, Bangladeshi migration fell by over 50 percent, from 98,422 workers in 2023 to 47,166 in 2024.
In another Middle-Eastern country, Kuwait, the number declined modestly from 36,548 to 33,031 year-on-year.
South Korea is one of the biggest labour markets for Bangladeshi workers for contractual jobs and salary security. The Asian, which selects migrant workers through rigorous language and skills assessments, offered Bangladesh a quota of 10,000 in 2023. However, only 4,996 workers made the cut, leaving more than half the quota unused.
In 2024, the number fell further to just 3,038.
The story is even starker in Europe.
In the United Kingdom, Bangladeshi migration declined from 10,383 in 2023 to just 3,550 in 2024.
In Italy, a key destination for Bangladeshi migrants, numbers crashed from 16,879 to just 1,164 over the same period.
WARNINGS FROM MIGRATION EXPERTS
Those involved in manpower export are increasingly vocal. They argue that while Bangladesh is earning crucial foreign currency, insufficient investment in skill development, coupled with bureaucratic inefficiencies and malpractice, is closing doors abroad.
“There’s been too little focus on equipping workers for modern labour markets,” said one manpower agency official who requested anonymity. “And our overseas networks are plagued by middlemen and opaque processes.”
Without urgent reforms, analysts warn, the current remittance boom may be short-lived, especially if source countries tighten migration policies or introduce remittance taxes, as proposed recently by President Donald Trump in the United States.
SHRINKING MARKETS
Bangladesh has seen no new avenues to send labourers overseas as was the case last year, while several countries such as Oman, Malaysia, and Maldives have closed since mid-2023.
The labour market of the UAE has remained closed since August 2024 without an official announcement. Manpower exports have also dropped by half in Brunei, while outflow to Mauritius has been suspended, and war-torn Lebanon bears no better news either.
Bahrain, once a major labour market in the Middle East, has also been closed since 2017. The country did not hire any workers in 2024.
The situation is almost similar in countries like Libya, Sudan, Iraq, and Egypt, with paths practically almost closed.
The Malaysian Immigration Department has repeatedly warned about syndication of Bangladeshi agencies. The country took in a record 351,683 workers in 2023 before halting visa issuances on May 31 in 2024 after 93,632 Bangladeshis had migrated before the closure.
As many as 127,883 workers travelled to Oman in 2023, but the following year the number plummeted to a measly 358. Until February this year, only 24 workers flew to Oman.
Oman stopped hiring workers from Bangladesh in October 2023. After negotiating at the government level during the Awami League government, the Middle Eastern country relaxed visa restrictions in some sectors, including high-income tourists and professionals, but did not agree to take workers. As a result, the country's labour market is practically closed.
EMPLOYMENT CRISIS
Although the number of workers going to Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh's largest labour market, has risen, many who travelled there are struggling due to difficulty finding work. In 2023, as many as 497,674 people went from Bangladesh to Saudi and it leapt to 628,564 the next year.
Fahad Hossain of Shahrasti Upazila in Chandpur lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He works in a workshop there. He told bdnews24.com, “There is a job crisis here. Many Bangladeshis are struggling to find work after coming through brokers.
“Recently, the country's police have arrested several people and sent them back home. It is difficult to find work if they are not under the company or do not have acquaintances. Lack of skills is also a big reason.”
Qatar mirrors a similar situation. In 2023, as many as 56,148 people went to the country, but in 2024, that number rose to 74,422.
A man named Elias Kanchan from Laksam, Comilla, recently returned from that country. He told bdnews24.com, “I went through a relative and spent about Tk 400,000. However, despite many attempts, I did not get any work, so I returned after three months.”
NO NEW LABOUR MARKETS OPENING
Despite repeated claims by the expatriates’ welfare ministry about exploring new labour markets, the actual number of workers migrating to these countries remains very low, according to official data.
In 2023, a total of 9,956 workers received clearance from BMET to go to Romania.
But in 2024, that number dropped to just 3,528.
At one point, Romania had closed its recruitment operations in Bangladesh, forcing applicants to travel to Delhi for visa processing.
Although the visa process has now resumed in Bangladesh, approvals remain limited.
The situation is similar for European countries like Poland and Croatia.
In 2023, only 2,066 workers received BMET clearance to go to Poland, and that figure fell to just 202 in 2024.
ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
Tasneem Siddiqui, acting executive director of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), told bdnews24.com: “The surge in 2023 was largely due to the post-Covid rebound, when countries resumed recruitment.
“That led to a sharp spike. Still, I don’t consider over 1 million migrants in 2024 a small number.”
She added, “But the real issue lies elsewhere. Our labour market is steadily shrinking. We used to send workers to 13 or 14 countries.
“Though officials claim it’s 170, in reality, it’s only 13 or 14 — and that number has now dropped to just nine.”
Tasneem pointed out that 90 percent of workers went to just six countries in 2024. “Markets like Bahrain and the UAE are technically open but not functional.
“I see the contraction of markets as a major concern. Middlemen must also be held accountable. These markets are riddled with fraud, prompting countries to shut them periodically.”
Shakirul Islam, president of migrant support NGO OKUP, said: “Our first problem is that the labour market is shrinking. The main reason is the unethical practices in our migration process.”
“In Italy, nearly 110,000 people have been blocked from travelling due to fake applications submitted to unnamed companies,” he added. “Similar problems have occurred with Malaysia and Oman, where people were sent under so-called free visas.
“Once irregularities emerge, these countries send our workers back. The same issue is affecting new European destinations.”
Shakirul suggested dismantling agency syndicates and improving worker skills. “The training provided here is mostly ineffective. There’s no proper job matching. That’s why the number of migrant workers is declining.”
Fakhrul Islam, a leader of the manpower exporters' association BAIRA, said: “We expect the government to reform this syndicate system.
“Workers should be able to migrate at lower costs, and authorised agencies should recruit based on merit and capacity.”
As a solution, Tasneem said: “We are getting the money, but we are not giving the importance it deserves.
“We need to improve skills. We must prepare workers with the skills that are in demand.
“But our Technical Training Centres (TTCs) are not internationally recognised. No country accepts training below six months, yet they provide only three-month courses,” she added.
According to her, alongside reforming TTCs, vocational education must be increased in the main education system.
Its prestige must be enhanced and people should be encouraged to pursue it.
GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE
Mohammad Abdul Hai, additional director general (Employment) of BMET, acknowledged some policy weaknesses on the government’s part.
He said, “Labour markets in several countries including Bahrain, Oman, Dubai, Malaysia, Romania, and Mauritius remain closed. There are policy weaknesses both on our side and theirs.
“The Russian market, however, has reopened recently. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has also been signed with Italy.”
Abdul Hai pointed out complexities in the recruitment process. “According to European regulations, no worker can apply directly for employment there.
“If there were a state-run system allowing workers to apply directly through a unified platform, it would be much better.”
Emphasising policy issues, he said: “If policy matters were discussed through teamwork and research, it would be beneficial.
“The current advisor and secretary have recently sent [demi official] letters to embassies of countries without MoUs, urging them to establish these agreements.
“For instance, China, Russia, Laos, Vietnam, Iran, Turkey, and North Cyprus accept workers, but we have no MoUs with them. Resolving this would expand our labour market. If we can send skilled workers, the market will grow," he added.
Attempts to reach Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Advisor Asif Nazrul were unsuccessful.
[Writing in English by Syed Mahmud Onindo and Sheikh Fariha Bristy]
