Bangladesh is facing a growing employment challenge as more than 906,000 university graduates remain unemployed, highlighting a widening disconnect between higher education and labor market demands despite the rapid expansion of universities across the country.
Recent reports from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the University Grants Commission (UGC), the government's Economic Strategy Taskforce and the QS World Future Skills Index 2025 indicate that while access to higher education has expanded significantly over the past decade, the economy has failed to generate enough quality jobs or equip graduates with market-relevant skills.
According to the Labor Force Survey 2023 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the number of unemployed graduates increased to 906,000 from 799,000 in 2022—an increase of more than 100,000 within a year. Over the past decade, the number of unemployed graduates has increased nearly eightfold.
The government's Economic Strategy Taskforce found that 28 out of every 100 unemployed people in Bangladesh are tertiary graduates. Graduate unemployment rose from 4.9% in 2010 to 12% in 2022, underscoring the growing mismatch between education and employment.
The country's preparedness to produce job-ready graduates also remains weak compared with global standards.
According to the QS World Future Skills Index 2025, Bangladesh ranks 67th among 81 countries in producing graduates whose skills align with employers' needs, scoring 39.1 in employer alignment.
The report gives Bangladesh a score of 65.7 for future-oriented academic readiness and 42.6 for future workforce preparedness, resulting in an overall score of 49.1.
The index, compiled using feedback from nearly 5 million employers, university performance, research output and labor market indicators, ranks the United States first with an overall score of 97.6, followed by the United Kingdom (97.1) and Germany (94.6).
The report also warns that 87% of employers worldwide either currently face or expect to face skills shortages, while 56% believe technological innovation will fundamentally change the skills required in future workplaces. It estimates that automation and digitalization could force 14% of the global workforce to change occupations.
Rapid expansion, persistent quality concerns
Bangladesh's higher education sector has expanded rapidly over the past 15 years.
According to the University Grants Commission (UGC), the country now has 163 universities, including 53 public and 110 private institutions. Since 2010, 22 public and 56 private universities have been established.
However, concerns over academic quality continue to grow.
UGC data shows that:
- 38 universities have a student-teacher ratio exceeding 20:1;
- 51 universities employ fewer than 5 professors;
- Total university enrollment stands at 4.82 million students.
Notably, around 81% of university students study under the National University and the Islamic Arabic University, institutions that experts say account for the largest share of unemployed graduates.
Labor market analysts say Bangladesh continues to produce graduates in disciplines with relatively low employment demand, while industries increasingly seek expertise in artificial intelligence, information technology, engineering, environmental sciences, renewable energy and data analytics.
According to experts, nearly 63% of National University students study humanities and social sciences, fields that currently generate comparatively fewer employment opportunities.
Broader employment situation
The country's broader unemployment situation also deteriorated during 2024.
According to the latest BBS Labor Force Survey (Third Quarter 2024), total unemployment increased to 2.66 million from 2.49 million a year earlier.
Male unemployment accounted for most of the increase, rising by approximately 150,000, while female unemployment increased by about 20,000.
The survey also found that Bangladesh's labor force shrank from 61.15 million to 59.18 million, suggesting fewer people were actively participating in the labor market.
Youth labor force participation also declined from 26.19 million to 24.02 million over the same period.
Economists say slower employment generation, coupled with the economic disruptions following the July-August 2024 mass uprising, contributed to the deterioration.
Following the political transition, former Information, Post, Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technology Adviser Nahid Islam described employment generation as one of the interim government's highest priorities, saying the movement itself had been driven largely by demands for jobs and equal opportunities.
Former Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain also identified unemployment as one of Bangladesh's biggest challenges and said government training programs would increasingly focus on ensuring employment rather than merely providing certificates.
Calls for structural reform
Speaking at a Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) session, Executive Director Rasheda K Choudhury said Bangladesh's fragmented education system has become a source of inequality due to the absence of a unified regulatory framework.
She said: "The country's public, private, English-medium and madrasa education streams should be brought under a common accountability mechanism."
Former Economic Strategy Taskforce Member Dr Rumana Huque emphasized improving education quality, updating curricula, strengthening monitoring systems and introducing long-term reforms to make graduates more employable.
Bdjobs Chief Executive Officer AKM Fahim Mashroor said unemployment among people aged 15-29 is nearly twice the national unemployment rate.
He said: "Approximately 62% of unemployed graduates come from National University-affiliated institutions."
National University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr SM Amanullah acknowledged serious governance and quality challenges.
He said: "The university oversees around 2,500 affiliated colleges, many of which suffer from politicized governing bodies, weak academic standards, poor teacher quality and inadequate coordination in technical education."
Umama Fatema, former spokesperson for the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said expectations for comprehensive education reform following the August political transition have yet to materialize.
She urged policymakers to seize the opportunity to introduce structural reforms before the current window closes.
BRAC representative Golam Rabbani stressed that education, skills development and employment policies must be designed together rather than separately, calling for stronger partnerships among government, industry and educational institutions to prepare graduates for future labor markets.
Earlier, Dhaka University economist Professor Selim Raihan said Bangladesh's employment challenge cannot be addressed through higher education expansion alone.
He said: "The country needs stronger industrialization, greater investment in small and medium enterprises, increased support for information technology and innovation, stronger university-industry collaboration, expanded entrepreneurship and startup ecosystems, and higher levels of both domestic and foreign investment."
He warned that without aligning education with labor market demand, Bangladesh risks losing the demographic dividend offered by its young population.
As technological transformation accelerates globally, economists argue that Bangladesh's greatest challenge is no longer expanding access to higher education but ensuring graduates possess the skills required for an increasingly competitive and rapidly evolving labor market.
