Bangladeshis seeking refuge abroad on the rise for five years

The number of Bangladeshi citizens seeking refugee status in various countries around the world continues to rise. Over the past five years, from 2020 to 2024, the number of Bangladeshis seeking asylum abroad has shown an upward trend each year.

In 2024 alone, 28,473 Bangladeshis were registered as refugees with the United Nations. Additionally, 108,131 Bangladeshis sought political asylum in different countries during the same year.

The majority of these individuals have registered as refugees or asylum seekers in countries across Europe and the Americas.

This information has been gleaned from a data provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The number of Bangladeshis seeking refugee or asylum status has steadily increased. These individuals have registered in European countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Georgia, Cyprus, Bosnia, and Austria.

In North and South America, Bangladeshis have sought asylum in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Papua New Guinea.

In Asia, they have registered in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. Notably, six Bangladeshis registered as refugees in Somalia, East Africa, in 2024.

According to government officials, most Bangladeshis have traveled to countries in Europe and the Americas in hopes of a better life and have registered as refugees or asylum seekers.

Applying for refugee or political asylum usually requires proving a risk to life in one's home country. A significant number of these applicants took advantage of the domestic political situation during the 2020–2024 period. However, a portion of these individuals have genuinely faced political persecution.

Nonetheless, UNHCR data suggests that many applicants exploited opportunities or prevailing situations. In 2023, a total of 24,126 Bangladeshis registered as refugees with the United Nations. The numbers for previous years were 23,935 in 2022; 22,672 in 2021; and 18,948 in 2020. In 2019, the figure was 22,766; in 2018, it was 21,022; and in 2017, it stood at 16,780.

Experts believe that a section of youth in Bangladesh have grown a tendency of leaving the country by any means possible. Human trafficking gangs are taking advantage of this desperation. Over the past few years, deaths of Bangladeshis along the Mediterranean coasts in Libya, Tunisia, and Italy have become commonplace.

Bangladeshi nationals are frequently being rescued from trafficking routes to Europe. Most recently, reports of Bangladeshis being forced to participate in the Ukraine-Russia war after falling prey to traffickers have hogged the media headlines. Many Bangladeshis who left the country in pursuit of an European dreams have ended up in battlefields as traffickers force them into the Russian army.

In 2023, a total of 75,867 Bangladeshis applied for political asylum in various countries worldwide. The figures for previous years were 61,298 in 2022; 65,495 in 2021; and 64,636 in 2020. In both 2019 and 2018, 62,860 Bangladeshis applied for political asylum abroad.

Diplomats note that most individuals who left the country as asylum seekers or refugees did so mainly due to economic reasons. They believe that the loss of income opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with limited legal migration routes and the politically turbulent situations in 2023 and 2024, contributed to this growing trend.

Every year, Bangladeshis fall victim to human trafficking networks. According to the Global Organized Crime Index, human trafficking is currently the most serious transnational crime in Bangladesh. In the index’s latest report, Bangladesh scored 8 out of 10 in terms of the severity of human trafficking.