A recent survey conducted by IOM Bangladesh has found that a whopping 99% potential migrants will not migrate to another country if they have better job opportunities at home.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) shared the report titled “Bangladesh: Survey on Drivers of Migration and Migrants’ Profile” with all relevant stakeholders in an online event on Wednesday.
A total of 11,415 potential migrants from 64 districts across the country, who intended to migrate by June 2020, were interviewed in November and December.
Majority of the respondents say lack of livelihood opportunities and jobs is the main push factor for them wanting to migrate.
A whopping 73% of the respondents said that lack of livelihood opportunities is the main push factor for them, another 13% said they want to migrate for financial reasons, 11% said they want to increase social status, and 2% said they do not see any hope.
Push factors are the conditions of a migrant’s origin that cause them to make the choice to leave their homes.
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One of the respondents said: "I cannot lead a decent life with the money I earn in this country. Many people are doing better by going abroad, that is why I have also decided to go."
Most respondents were male (89%) and the average age of respondents was 27, with a total of 64% of respondents aged in their twenties.
Dr Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, said it is a collective responsibility of the government and non-governmental organizations to ensure safe migration.
He also said it is very important for the potential migrant to know what they have signed up for before migrating abroad.
“We are doing our part to create awareness among potential migrants so that they can have access to proper information. Information is one of the keys for safe migration,” he added.
Socioeconomic drivers of migration
The respondents were asked to list top challenges they face in home where insufficient income tops in the list.
A total of 50% of the respondents said insufficient income is the major challenge they have at home, 12% have financial problems and debts, 30% have mentioned unemployment issues, 4% have mental and physical health issues and 2% said they have lack of hope.
Only 1.4% expressed interest in migrating to Europe and the Americas. Most respondents reported that they would travel to the Middle East where Saudi Arabia was the most popular country of destination.
Most of the potential migrants said they get help with their migration arrangements from their friends who are already living in the intended destination countries.
A total of 60% of them said their friends supported them with their migration arrangements and 25% of them said their family members supported them with the migration arrangements.
Giorgi Gigauri, chief of mission of IOM in Bangladesh, said that findings from the report will initiate discussions on how to address the socioeconomic drivers of migration from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is the sixth largest origin country for international migrants in the world, with 7.8 million Bangladeshi migrants living abroad as of 2019. In Bangladesh, over 2.2 million young adults join the labour force every year.