Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia number around 2.6 million. Saudi Arabia is the top destination country for Bangladeshi migrant workers, with almost 100,000 Bangladeshis migrating to Saudi Arabia in the last quarter of 2022. Most Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia work in the service industry.
Context for Bangladeshi Temporary Migration The overarching impetus for migration is the presence of poverty, and pursuit of a better livelihood and economic standing.Islam, Md Nurul. "Gender analysis of migration from Bangladesh." Ministry of Manpower Development and Social Welfare, Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training Bangladesh, 2015, https://old.bmet.gov.bd/BMET/resources/Static%20PDF%20and%20DOC/publication/Gender%20Analysis%20of%20Migration.pdf. These migrations tend to be temporary as opposed to permanent (either short-term or long-term), due to the flow of remittances from these job.Qayum, Nayma. “Chasing the Dubai Dream in Italy: Bangladeshi Migration to Europe.” Migration Policy Institute, Oct. 2017, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/chasing-dubai-dream-italy-bangladeshi-migration-europe. In 2015, Bangladesh was ninth in the world for top remittance recipients, with it accounting for approximately 8% of their GDP (around $15.4 billion). Recently, there has also been research pointing towards the role of climate change in shaping migration as well. A paper published in 2021 researches the role of coastal climate change for migration in Bangladesh.Ahmed, Saleh, and Elizabeth Eklund. “CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN COASTAL BANGLADESH: MIGRATION, GENDER AND ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE.” Asian Affairs, vol. 52, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 155–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/03068374.2021.1880213. Climate change was attributed as being a risk to livelihood, reducing food security, and increasing poverty, hunger and malnutrition.Ahmed, Saleh, and Elizabeth Eklund. “CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN COASTAL BANGLADESH: MIGRATION, GENDER AND ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE.” Asian Affairs, vol. 52, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 155–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/03068374.2021.1880213.
Recruitment agencies in Bangladesh play a significant role in the curation of this migrant labor force.Rahman, Md Mizanur. “Bangladeshi Labour Migration to the Gulf States: Patterns of Recruitment and Processes.” Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue Canadienne D Études Du Développement, vol. 33, no. 2, June 2012, pp. 214–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2012.689612. These include public and private for-profit organizations. Private recruiters, known as dalals (দালাল), charge unregulated fees to prospective workers with the promise of finding them good work; this process tends to put the migrant and their family in debt. There is also a pattern and concentration of migration from Bangladesh to the Gulf countries, the most common of which is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and overall to other majority Muslim countries.
History
In 2016, Saudi Arabia lifted a seven-year ban on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in the country.
See also
Bangladesh–Saudi Arabia relations Bangladeshis in the Middle East Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia Migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region Treatment of South Asian labourers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
References