Bangladesh, despite having a marked economic growth and many development-initiatives, is seeing a growing number of its young people choosing highly risky routes to Europe. In particular, migration via the central Mediterranean route (through North Africa, especially via Libya and/or Tunisia to countries like Italy) has become increasingly common.
European Border and Coastguard Agency, Frontex, recorded detection of 63,231 incidents of illegal border crossing to Europe through the central Mediterranean route (during Jan-Nov this year), with Bangladesh being on top as the source country of nearly a third (19,329) of the migrants.
This trend raises many questions.
- What drives these young people to undertake such perilous journeys?
- What structures and networks facilitate them?
- What are the broader implications for Bangladesh’s development trajectory and for the individuals and families concerned?
Drivers of migration: Why do the youth leave?
The primary reason is the lack of decent employment and security at home. Many young Bangladeshis feel that while the country might have improved somewhat in terms of GDP or infrastructure over the past decade or so, the quality of jobs, living wages, and safe working environments for youth remain disappointing.
Had there been enough good job opportunities in the country, an absolute majority of the risktakers wouldn’t have thought of migrating in the first place. In a survey of over 11,000 potential migrants, 91% said they would stay if there were more work opportunities in Bangladesh.
Behind Bangladesh’s impressive economic figures lies a quiet crisis of employment that is driving many of its young citizens to look beyond its borders. While the country’s GDP showed growth for the past several years before getting somewhat dampened in recent months, and its cities expanded with new infrastructure, its economy failed to create enough employment opportunities to absorb thousands of young men and women -- many of them educated -- into the job market.
For many young people, particularly those with moderate education or technical skills, the domestic job market offers little security, the wages are low, working conditions are poor, and opportunities for advancement are scarce.
The result is a pervasive sense of frustration and disillusionment: Development appears visible in the skyline, but invisible in people’s paychecks.
Factories and service industries often rely on cheap, insecure labour, while formal employment remains concentrated among the privileged few with connections or capital. In such an uneven landscape, the idea of a “decent job” feels like a distant promise rather than a reachable goal.
This gap between economic growth and livelihood security explains why migration continues to hold such powerful appeal. Many young Bangladeshis insist that they would stay if genuine opportunities existed such as jobs that provide fair wages, respect, and a future.
Yet for most, these opportunities remain out of reach. When educated and capable youth see no pathway to stability at home, leaving becomes an act of survival rather than choice. The country’s challenge, therefore, is not simply to build infrastructure or attract investment, but to create meaningful employment that anchors the hopes of its young generation.
Push factors of risk and insecurity in Bangladesh
In the rural heartlands of Bangladesh, life is increasingly defined by uncertainty. Farmers and day labourers grapple with a volatile mix of environmental and economic pressures, rising river erosion, erratic rainfall, flash floods, and the creeping impacts of climate change that erode land and livelihoods alike. Each season brings the possibility of loss: Crops fail, homes are damaged, and debts deepen.
On Wednesday (December 10), International Organization for Migration (IOM-UN Migration), together with the Bangladesh government and its development partners launched its first comprehensive nationwide estimate of internally displaced persons (IDPs) caused by natural hazards. The findings offer a clear picture of how floods, cyclones, river erosion and other hazards continue to disrupt lives across Bangladesh.
The IOM-UN Migration assessment estimates that about five million people are currently internally displaced due to natural disasters. Data was collected between September and October this year. The assessment collectively interviewed more than 29,000 key informants through 5,388 field visits, making it the most extensive exercise of its kind in Bangladesh.
Beyond nature’s unpredictability, political instability and inflation further complicate survival. For many rural families, income is seasonal, savings are nonexistent, and social protection is minimal. The cost of staying put, enduring years of stagnation with no path to progress feels unbearable.
Within this landscape of insecurity, migration begins to appear not as an extraordinary risk but as a calculated alternative. When life at home offers little guarantee of dignity or stability, even the perilous journey across deserts and seas starts to feel like a rational gamble for a better future.
The pull of Europe
Bangladeshis who decide on irregular migration are often educated, especially middle class and make informed decisions, using existing networks and knowledge of European destinations (especially Italy) to make the journey.
The growing pull of Europe among Bangladeshi youth is rooted not merely in fantasy but in informed, deliberate decision-making shaped by expanding networks and access to information. Many of those setting out on irregular journeys are not the poorest or least educated; they often come from middle-class families with some education and global awareness.
They know the tales of capsized boats and detention centres are widely shared but they also know of those who succeeded, who found steady work in Italy, Spain, or Greece and now support families back home.
This knowledge, often passed through family networks, social media, or returning migrants, creates a sense of strategic migration rather than impulsive escape.
In many rural towns, entire informal ecosystems now exist around migration, where local middlemen provide logistical support and connect aspiring migrants to established communities abroad. These networks, built on trust and familiarity, make the impossible appear achievable.
For these young men and women, Europe represents a rational opportunity, a destination where education and ambition might finally yield tangible results.
What strengthens this pull is the enduring narrative of Europe as a space of fairness, stability, and social advancement, values that many Bangladeshis feel are lacking at home.
Over decades, Italy in particular has emerged as a symbolic gateway to the West, where Bangladeshi communities have flourished and serve as proof that success is attainable. Stories of small businesses in Rome or Milan, remittances sent to build modern houses in Sylhet or Noakhali, and the prestige attached to being an “Italy-returnee” reinforce the idea that Europe rewards effort in ways Bangladesh does not.
During her September meeting with Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, held at a hotel in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni emphasized on safe migration. The Italian premier expressed her country’s willingness to engage constructively with Dhaka to ensure safe migration pathways that would benefit both nations. She underscored the need for stronger measures to combat human trafficking, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean.
In response, Yunus stated that the Bangladeshi interim government has already adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward human trafficking and has implemented several initiatives to ensure safer migration routes for Bangladeshi citizens.
Unfortunately, the Frontex figure (as mentioned at the beginning of this article) doesn’t reflect positively on Bangladesh’s promise of safe migration.
Affordability of migration and rising network connectivity
The cost of irregular migration via the Mediterranean is high (thousands of euros on average, sometimes up to 15,000 euros) but many youths and their families see it as an investment or the only chance for a “better future.”
Families sell land, take high-interest loans, or mortgage their homes to finance these perilous journeys, convinced that the eventual rewards will outweigh the risks.
The reasoning is simple yet desperate: Even if one son succeeds in reaching Italy or another European destination, his remittances could lift the entire household out of poverty.
In a society where social mobility at home feels increasingly constrained, migration becomes a financial strategy, an alternative savings plan where the migrant’s body and courage are the collateral.
This belief is reinforced by stories of success filtering back from Europe accounts of migrants who found steady work, built houses, or funded their siblings’ education.
Each such story, shared in villages or through Facebook videos, fuels a powerful narrative that reinforces migration as a rational, even heroic, economic choice.
What makes this phenomenon even more potent today is the growing reach of digital connectivity. Smartphones and social media have transformed the way migration dreams are imagined and planned. The digital sphere also acts as an informal information marketplace: Routes, costs, and “contacts” are discussed as casually as everyday gossip.
Perception of development gap
Although Bangladesh shows infrastructure growth and rising incomes, young people feel that the development has not translated into meaningful opportunities for them; “expensive infrastructure-based development” does not guarantee decent jobs.
Expensive highways, metro systems, and industrial parks have transformed the physical landscape, yet they have done little to transform the everyday lives of millions searching for stable employment.
The narrative of “development before democracy” and increasing detachment from democratic exercises, ie, political inclusion, proper voting etc resulted in a growing perception of exclusion among the youth and thereby causing much frustration.
They see new megaprojects as symbols of a future that remains inaccessible to them, a kind of development that builds structures but not security. Many question whether progress measured by physical infrastructure truly reflects improvements in people’s lives. For those who feel their education and effort go unrewarded, migration appears as the only viable route to personal advancement.
Policy recommendations
Our policy planners need to take note of the above and ponder seriously what difference they can make through some positive policy interventions.
It is not enough to generate jobs; they must be decent (living wage, safe conditions, stable), so that the youth stay in the country and make a living in a decent way and contribute to the national economy and the society at large.
Beyond jobs, factors like climate vulnerability, informal insecure work, lack of social protection, and rural development must be tackled.
Many youths opt for irregular routes because legal options are limited or costly, and information is opaque. Improving legal labour mobility, transparent recruitment, and counselling can help.
Stronger law enforcement, intelligence, cross‐border cooperation, and victim support are needed while awareness should be created about the nexus of local agents, overseas middlemen, and a section of dishonest officials. Although many are aware of the dangers, risk awareness must be paired with credible alternatives so that choosing to migrate is not the only viable option.
Families left behind need safety nets, and the migrants who fail need reintegration support. Recognizing the social cost on households is key here.
If Bangladesh wants to free itself from the stigma of pursuing risky migration, it must first confront the realities driving its young people to leave.
The country’s economy may be expanding, but too many of its jobs remain insecure, poorly paid, and unsafe. Creating more employment is not enough, the focus must be on better employment work that offers dignity, fair wages, and stability.
Young people do not migrate because they lack ambition, but because they see no clear path to a sustainable future at home. Fixing that means strengthening industries, connecting education to market demand, and ensuring that rural areas are not left behind in the nation’s growth.
On this year’s International Migrants Day, the United Nations Secretary General notes: “Migration is a powerful driver of progress -- lifting economies, connecting cultures, and benefiting countries of origin and destination alike. Yet when migration is poorly governed or misrepresented, it can fuel hate and division, endangering the lives of people seeking safety and opportunity.”
Over the past decade, nearly 70,000 migrants have died or gone missing along land and sea routes, with the true number likely far higher. Borders are tightening, smugglers and traffickers are thriving, and women and children are among the most at risk.
Our youth seeking to earn foreign wages deserve the right policy support from our government, facilitating safe migration and contributing to the national economy.
Ashiana Reaz is a young professional and a freelance contributor.
