Why is GenZ looking abroad?

Graduation is over, but does that really mean the end of one chapter? Or is it the beginning of another struggle? Morning classes, catching up with friends in between, returning home for a comforting lunch prepared by your mother, followed by an afternoon nap. Life changes in the blink of an eye during the final year of university. Jobs, interviews and CVs — it suddenly feels like an attempt to grow up overnight. And now, another concern has entered the picture: moving abroad.

An increasing number of young people from Generation Z are looking overseas. The figures reflect this growing trend. According to UNESCO, around 52,800 Bangladeshi students were pursuing higher education abroad in 2023, compared with just over 24,000 in 2013. The number has more than doubled in a decade. But what is driving this trend? Why has abroad become the preferred destination for so many members of Gen Z?

Before discussing the decision to move abroad after graduation, it is worth considering those who make the choice at the very first stage of higher education. For many students, the decision to leave the country after completing their HSC (Higher Secondary Education) examinations stems from a range of factors. The biggest, however, is the gruelling competition for admission to universities at home.

On average, 36 candidates compete for every available place at public universities. A similar level of competition is gradually becoming evident at private universities as well. Such intense pressure is fostering a negative attitude among students towards building their futures in Bangladesh.

Tasmim Binte Karim Omi is currently living in St John's, Canada. She left Bangladesh four years ago, immediately after completing her higher secondary education, to pursue higher studies abroad. Her experience reflects much the same reality. The fear of losing the admission battle was overwhelming. That was what led her to choose overseas education. But the journey was by no means easy.

After completing their undergraduate degrees, students in Bangladesh generally have three options: first, sitting for the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations; second, competing for jobs at reputable private-sector organisations; and third, moving abroad in pursuit of a better life. The first two options involve competing against hundreds of thousands of applicants. For many, going abroad therefore appears to be the only alternative. It is this path that offers students at least a glimmer of hope.

I spoke to Jannatul Ferdous Tripti, a final-year student in the Department of Criminology and Police Science at Chittagong University. As she approaches the completion of her undergraduate studies, thoughts about the future seem to occupy much of her mind. A significant part of that anxiety concerns employment, alongside the prospect of pursuing higher education abroad.

IELTS, statements of purpose (SOPs), bank statements and sponsors' documents — the list of requirements seems endless. Despite all the complications, why does she still consider going abroad her first choice?

In response, Jannatul says, “Access to better-quality education is the primary reason. In Bangladesh, my subject is offered at only three universities. So you can understand why, whether I want to or not, I have to give priority to countries such as those in Europe and America in search of better opportunities.”

However, better-quality education is not the only reason young people are leaving the country. Uncertainty in the job market is another major factor.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' Labour Force Survey 2024, the number of unemployed people in the country stood at 2.46 million in 2023. By December 2024, it had risen to approximately 2.62 million. According to the September 2026 issue of the IMF's Finance & Development magazine, nearly 36 per cent of Bangladesh's educated labour force aged 15–24, with post-secondary education, are unemployed.

Given the state of the job market, is it not understandable that young people would rather seek opportunities abroad?

According to Bangladesh Bank data, students remitted more than $660 million for overseas education in the 2024–25 financial year. Faced with such a substantial investment, members of Gen Z increasingly regard foreign destinations as safer bets than staying in Bangladesh. At the heart of this preference is their desire for greater certainty in employment and their future prospects.

Let us return to Tasmim's story. She left Bangladesh four years ago and has spent all this time away from her family. She has not had an opportunity to visit home even once. Yet, in many ways, she has achieved what she had hoped to gain by leaving the country. She has found personal freedom, better education and an improved standard of living.

But there are also many things she has had to give up.

When asked what she considered the biggest challenge of living abroad, her answer was immediate: having to deal with every situation on her own.

“The challenges of living abroad are not the same for everyone. Much depends on the kind of environment in which a person has grown up. I grew up surrounded by many people, so my biggest challenge after coming to Canada was not finding people with whom I could connect and socialise in the way I wanted,” she says.

Although life abroad may appear colourful from a distance, such feelings are quite common among students living overseas. There is also the added pressure of establishing oneself in a new country. Yet, despite all these challenges, going abroad continues to represent a ray of hope.

Female students appear to be somewhat more inclined towards choosing overseas destinations. Behind this preference lie the desire for personal freedom, social security and the ability to become financially independent.

Faced with lewd remarks and unwanted stares on the streets, unsafe public transport and pressure to marry at an early age, many women are looking abroad for a better quality of life.

Global statistics appear to support this trend. A German study conducted in 2021 found a notable gender gap in the desire to study abroad among first-semester university students. Of the 5,408 students surveyed, 25 per cent of female students expressed a clear intention to pursue higher education overseas. Among male students, the figure was 20 per cent.

Among the thousands of Gen Z young people dreaming of moving abroad, there are also those with a different outlook. One such student told me that he had no desire to leave Bangladesh.

His reason was simple: the prospect of living alone in a foreign country.

He says, “The environment we have grown up in since childhood in Bangladesh is completely different from what we find abroad. Even the idea of socialising is quite different there. Having grown up amid so much noise, excitement and social interaction, I find the prospect of living alone abroad rather difficult. With enough determination and courage, it is possible to do well in Bangladesh, too.”

There is hope, but the journey is far from straightforward. A required IELTS score, an admission letter, bank statements, sponsors' documents and, finally, a visa interview — every stage involves waiting, while the final step carries the risk of rejection. Country-specific restrictions add to the complications.

Canada has set aside only 155,000 places for new international students in 2026. Meanwhile, rising costs and growing complications in the United States and Canada have prompted many students to consider destinations in Asia and Europe.

Countries such as Germany, Italy, Finland, South Korea and China are now featuring prominently on their lists of preferred destinations. This year, 51 Bangladeshi students enrolled at Japan's Saga University, making them the largest group of international students at the institution for the first time.

Meanwhile, the number of students learning different foreign languages in Dhaka is also rising rapidly. In other words, although the destinations may be changing, the desire to go abroad remains undiminished.

According to a report by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), a total of 1,130,757 workers went abroad in 2025. A portion of them belong to Generation Z.

The acute shortage of employment opportunities at home is pushing young Bangladeshis towards the Middle East, the Far East, Europe and America in search of work.

Migrant workers are one of the principal sources of remittances for Bangladesh. Reports of people dying while attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean Sea or crossing borders hidden inside covered vans leave us deeply saddened.

Just as members of Gen Z leave behind the familiarity of home in pursuit of higher education, a substantial number are also willing to risk their lives in search of employment abroad.

For Generation Z, foreign countries have increasingly become the destination of choice. Yet many young people also want to return and work for their country. Others hope to contribute to Bangladesh while pursuing their goals from wherever they are.

Many members of this new generation have expressed such aspirations.

* Zahin Jaimah Kabir is a student of Economics at BRAC University