Bangladesh received $25.2bn in remittances in FY2025, making it the world's seventh-largest remittance recipient. Using Bangladesh Bank data, World Bank migration reports, and household surveys, we trace where the money comes from, how it flows, and where it goes.
- ▸In FY2025, the country received $25.2 billion in formal remittance flows — exceeding both garment export earnings ($21.8 billion net of imported inputs) and foreign direct investment ($3.1 billion).
- ▸At 5.8% of GDP, remittances are the single largest source of foreign exchange earnings.
- ▸> Bangladesh Bank data shows that remittance inflows grew at a compound annual rate of 6.2% between FY2020 and FY2025, reaching $25.2 billion in FY2025.
- ▸The average Bangladeshi migrant worker sends home $2,340 per year — approximately 15% of their host-country income.
- ▸The Middle East remains the largest source region, contributing 58% of total remittances.
Remittances are the silent engine of the Bangladeshi economy. In FY2025, the country received $25.2 billion in formal remittance flows — exceeding both garment export earnings ($21.8 billion net of imported inputs) and foreign direct investment ($3.1 billion). At 5.8% of GDP, remittances are the single largest source of foreign exchange earnings.
"Bangladesh Bank data shows that remittance inflows grew at a compound annual rate of 6.2% between FY2020 and FY2025, reaching $25.2 billion in FY2025. The average Bangladeshi migrant worker sends home $2,340 per year — approximately 15% of their host-country income.
The Geographic Distribution
The remittance map has shifted significantly. The Middle East remains the largest source region, contributing 58% of total remittances. Saudi Arabia alone accounts for 22%, followed by the UAE (16%), Qatar (8%), and Kuwait (6%). However, the fastest-growing sources are non-traditional destinations: Italy (5%, up from 2% in 2020), South Korea (4%, up from 1%), and Japan (3%, up from 0.5%).
According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), 1.3 million Bangladeshi workers went abroad in 2024 — the highest annual outflow since 2017. Of these, 47% went to Saudi Arabia, 18% to the UAE, 8% to Malaysia, and 7% to Oman.
The Cost of Migration
The financial burden of migration remains a critical barrier. A World Bank-ILO joint study in 2024 found that the average Bangladeshi migrant pays $2,800 in recruitment fees and travel costs to secure employment abroad — equivalent to 7.4 months of expected host-country earnings. This is 3.5 times the global average recruitment cost ratio.
The study also found that 42% of migrants finance migration through informal loans at interest rates averaging 24% per annum, creating a debt burden that consumes an average of 8 months of remittance flows in repayment.
The Informal Flow Problem
Bangladesh Bank estimates that an additional 30-40% of remittance flows enter through informal channels (hundi/hawala), which would bring the true remittance figure to approximately $33-35 billion annually. The hundi market thrives on a 2-3% exchange rate premium over official channels and faster settlement times.
The Household Impact
A 2024 Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) survey of 7,200 remittance-receiving households found that remittances account for 56% of recipient household income. Of this, 38% is spent on food, 22% on housing and utilities, 18% on education and healthcare, 12% on savings and investment, and 10% on discretionary spending. Remittance-receiving households showed 31% higher educational attainment among children and 27% lower poverty rates compared to non-receiving households with similar demographic profiles.
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