BD’s overseas labour migration up 12pc in 2025: RMMRU

Overseas migration of Bangladeshi workers rose by 12 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, reflecting a continued outbound labour trend amid domestic economic pressures, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU).

The report, titled ‘Trends and Dynamics of Labour Migration from Bangladesh 2025’, was unveiled at an event at the Jatiya Press Club in the afternoon.

It said a total of 1,130,757 Bangladeshi men and women migrated overseas for employment in 2025, up from 1,011,969 in 2024.

Of the total migrants last year, 62,317 were women, accounting for 5.5 percent of overall overseas employment. The number of female migrants rose by 1.9 percent year-on-year, the report noted.

According to RMMRU data, annual female migration remained above 100,000 between 2016 and 2019, but fell below that mark during the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figure rebounded in 2022 to 105,466 before declining again from 2023 onward. Compared to 2022, female migration from Bangladesh dropped by 40.9 percent in 2025.

RMMRU observed that poor working conditions for women abroad, job insecurity and workplace violence are discouraging women from seeking overseas employment.

Data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) showed that Bangladeshi workers migrated to 141 countries in 2025, with 90 percent going to just five destinations.

Saudi Arabia topped the list, receiving 754,369 Bangladeshi workers. Qatar accounted for 10 percent of total migrants, followed by Singapore with 6 percent, while Kuwait and the Maldives each received 4 percent.

Saudi Arabia also hosted the highest number of female Bangladeshi workers, with 44,832 women migrating there in 2025. Jordan was the second-largest destination for female migrants with 10,525 workers.

Other destinations included Qatar, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Japan, though the number of women migrating to Hong Kong and Japan remained the lowest.

District-wise, Cumilla sent the highest number of migrants abroad in 2025, followed by Brahmanbaria, Dhaka, Tangail, Kishoreganj, Chandpur, Chattogram, Noakhali, Narsingdi and Mymensingh.

At the divisional level, Dhaka division recorded the highest number of migrants, while Rangpur division sent the lowest.

While outbound migration data is available, RMMRU said it could not determine how many migrants returned home, making it difficult to estimate the total number of Bangladeshi workers currently living abroad.

RMMRU Executive Director Tasneem Siddiqui said although the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry had earlier announced an agreement with the Ministry of Home Affairs to collect returnee migration data, no visible outcome has emerged so far.

“As the number of returnee migrants cannot be determined, there is no accurate estimate of how many Bangladeshi workers are currently overseas,” she said.