The Bangladeshis who fly two flags #IF2F

Making an impact back home...

As Bangladesh is about to celebrate 50 years of independence, the country is about to transition from least developed country (LDC) status to a lower middle-income country. Its migrants, particularly migrant workers, have played a huge role in this achievement.

Bangladeshis are the sixth largest group of migrants in the world, with more than 13 million citizens outside of the country globally.

Since 1976, these men and women have sent back over USD 235 billion in remittances. Even last year, despite the impacts of COVID-19, Bangladesh benefitted from USD 21.9 billion in remittances. In fact, remittances are Bangladesh's second-largest source of foreign earnings after its gigantic textile industry.* The majority of the Bangladeshi diaspora are Muslim, as the act of seafaring was traditionally prohibited in Hinduism; a taboo known as kala pani (black/dirty water).

...and around the world

Bangladeshis have moved to live and work all around the world. Here are the locations where the largest populations are to be found.

Middle East

- By far the largest part of the Bangladeshi diaspora live and work in the Middle East - 8 million of the 13 million living worldwide. And Saudi Arabia has the largest number with 2.5 million Bangladeshis, while there are 1 million in the United Arab Emirates and over 600,000 in Oman.

Bangladesh is one of the largest labour suppliers to Saudi Arabia. In 2007, Bangladeshi workers obtained the biggest share, with 23.50 % of the 1.5 million Saudi Arabia visas issued.

The majority of the diaspora in this region are classified as foreign or    guest workers. So, they’re not citizens but are either sent or invited to work for a period of time.

Malaysia

As of 2018, there were 1 million Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia, forming  a large proportion of the country’s foreign labour force - many of them working in the construction industry. And, of course, many of them send money home: remittances from Malaysia to Bangladesh amounted to roughly US $5 million in 1993, but grew eleven times to US $57 million by 1999.

USA  

Bangladeshi immigrants started arriving in the United States in large numbers in the early 1970s and have become among the fastest growing ethnic communities since that decade. In 2020, the population was 800,000. New York City is home to two-thirds of the Bangladeshi American population.

United Kingdom

The UK’s  2011 census found 451,529 people of Bangladeshi ancestry living in the UK. Today they are predominantly concentrated in the east London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newnham. And their migration to Britain is mainly linked with chain migration - where migrants from one town follow in the footsteps of others from their town. In this case, many come from the Sylet Divison - the north east division of Bangladesh.  

Sending money home to Bangladesh

WorldRemit understands those who make the journey to find opportunity elsewhere only too well. Many of the people who work for us have made the very same life journey to fly two flags as well.

That’s why we do all we can to make sending money home as fast, easy and secure as possible.  You can send money anytime, night or day using your mobile or laptop. Simply choose how you’d like to send your money and our low fees and favourable exchange rates will be shown up front. In just a few taps, your money will be on its way. Find out more about sending to Bangladesh here.