Remittance (expatriate earnings) remains one of Bangladesh's primary sources of foreign exchange.
In the recently concluded FY26, the highest volume of remittance came from Saudi Arabia, totaling $5.8488 billion.
The remaining nations in the top five are the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, and the United States.
This data emerged from a country-by-country analysis recently released by Bangladesh Bank.
A total of 61.61% of all remittances originated from these top five countries.
Experts have cautioned that heavy reliance on a small number of countries for remittances presents a strategic risk.
Key Remittance Statistics (FY26)
- Total Remittance: $35.58 billion (17.64% increase over the previous fiscal year).
- Top 5 Countries (61.61% of total):
- Saudi Arabia: $5.8488 billion
- United Kingdom: $5.07 billion
- United Arab Emirates: $4.58 billion
- Malaysia: $3.40 billion
- United States: $3.01 billion
- Next 5 Countries (~25% of total): Italy, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Singapore combined sent $8.9142 billion.
- Overall Concentration: The top 10 countries account for nearly 87% of Bangladesh's total remittance inflow.
Country Insights
- Saudi Arabia: As the largest Middle Eastern country and top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia hosts the largest number of Bangladeshi workers. Millions of Bangladeshis working in construction, transport, hospitality, and domestic roles regularly send funds home, keeping Saudi Arabia in the top position for years.
A significant portion of Bangladeshis in the UK are permanent immigrants and business owners.
Beyond family maintenance, they invest in various domestic sectors and fund community development initiatives. Despite a smaller expatriate population compared to the Gulf, higher skill levels and earning capacity drive significant remittance volumes.
Expatriates in UAE and Malaysia work primarily in construction, logistics, and service sectors (hotels/restaurants), along with small business ownership in the UAE. Recent expansion in job opportunities has accelerated remittance growth from both nations.
Remittances from the US have steadily climbed, driven by professionals in high-income careers as well as entrepreneurs and business owners.
Key inflow drivers & economic impact
According to industry insiders, several factors have sustained positive remittance momentum:
- Government cash incentives for using formal banking channels.
- Heightened oversight and enforcement against informal hundi channels.
- Rapid expansion of digital money transfer platforms.
- Exploration of new labor markets and initiatives to deploy skilled manpower abroad.
Economists emphasize that remittances strengthen foreign currency reserves and support import bills, while fueling rural consumption, home construction, small enterprise investments, and local job creation.
Potential headwinds include global economic uncertainty, labor market competition or instability in the Middle East, and internal shortages of skilled workers.
"Relying on just five countries for more than half of our total remittance is somewhat risky from an economic security standpoint. Because workers in Middle Eastern countries are predominantly unskilled or semi-skilled, remittances from that region fluctuate. Conversely, Bangladeshi expatriates in the UK and US hold stronger socio-economic positions, yielding more stable remittance streams,” said Mustafa K Mujeri, executive director of the Institute for Inclusive Finance and Development (INM) and former chief economist of Bangladesh Bank.
If major policy or labor market changes occur in these top five nations, the impact on remittance volume will be immediate. Therefore, reducing reliance on a few specific countries and focusing on sending skilled labor to new markets is imperative, he added.
