DHAKA, Jan 5, 2026 (BSS) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has remained as the top destination for Bangladeshi manpower export in 2025 while 752,715 Bangladeshis went to the Arab country.

According to data of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), a total of 752,715 Bangladeshi nationals went to the KSA with jobs in 2025. 

Qatar received the second highest 107,472 overseas job seekers from Bangladesh in 2025, while Singapore and Kuwait received 70,056 and 72,717 Bangladeshis respectively.

Bangladesh signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia for sending manpower, marking the first such agreement in the 50-year history of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Multi-visa arrangements have been made for Bangladeshi expatriate workers in Malaysia.

BMET Additional Director General (Joint Secretary) Md Ashraf Hossain said Bangladesh sent nearly 11.17 lakh workers, including both male and female, abroad in 2025. 

The country sent a total of 13,03,453 workers with overseas employment in 2023, while the number was 10,11,969 in 2024, he said.

Ashraf said safe, skilled and regular migration is necessary now and the government is working to ensure it. 

“That’s why allocation should be increased to this end,” he added. 

Bangladesh witnessed a growing trend in remittance inflows since December last year due to multiple factors including minimising gap between official and informal exchange rates and a crackdown on money laundering.

From January to December 2025, Bangladeshi expatriates sent about US$ 32,816.87 million in remittances to the country.

According to data of Bangladesh Bank, the country received a total of US$ 33.33 billion of remittance in the fiscal 2024–25, while US$ 23.91 billion in previous fiscal 2023–24.

The BB data shows that from July to December 29, 2025, Bangladeshi expatriates sent US$ 16,079 million in remittances while it was US$ 13,658 million during the same period of the previous fiscal.

It said in fiscal 2024-25, remittance inflows crossed US$ 30 billion for the first time, rising by a record US$ 6.4 billion. Previously, the highest remittance received by Bangladesh was US$ 24.8 billion in fiscal 2020-21.

Sources at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment said the government has been exploring new destinations, including Russia, Brunei Darussalam and Eastern Europe, for exporting more skilled and semi-skilled manpower.

In addition, the government is carrying out training programmes for nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers to develop skilled and semi-skilled manpower for overseas employment.

Recruiting agents said overseas employment faced a setback in some traditional destinations like Malaysia, but identification of new destinations and increased demand for Bangladeshi workers in several countries helped overcome the situation.