Bangladesh Sends 750,000 Workers to Saudi Arabia, Sets New Record
In a remarkable testament to a decades-old economic partnership, Bangladesh set a historic record in 2025 by sending over 750,000 workers to Saudi Arabia. This figure, announced by the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), represents the highest single-year deployment to any one country in Bangladesh’s history.
This massive movement of people cements Saudi Arabia’s position as the undisputed top destination for Bangladeshi migrant labor. Of the more than 1.1 million Bangladeshis who sought employment abroad last year, a staggering two-thirds chose the Kingdom. They now join a vast community, with an estimated 3.5 million Bangladeshis already living and working there, forming the largest expatriate group in Saudi Arabia. The economic impact is profound, with this diaspora sending home over $5 billion in remittances annually—a critical lifeline for the Bangladeshi economy.
The Shift Toward Skilled Labor
Behind this record number lies a significant strategic shift. Gone are the days of focusing solely on volume. Both nations are now prioritizing skill, safety, and regularization. This transformation is largely driven by Saudi Arabia’s Skill Verification Program (SVP), launched in Bangladesh in 2023 and managed by the Saudi agency Takamol.
The results are clear: more than one-third of the 2025 migrants were certified under this program. Bangladesh has rapidly scaled up its capacity to meet this demand, expanding from certifying just 1,000 skilled workers monthly to now having 28 Saudi-approved centers across the country with a monthly capacity of 60,000 certifications.
“We are now trying to produce truly skilled workers for the Saudi labor market,” explained Ashraf Hossain of BMET. This focus extends to new sectors, with training programs in mining recently launched to meet the specific demands of the oil-rich Kingdom.
A Partnership Strengthened by Agreement
The future of this vital corridor looks even brighter. A new employment agreement signed between the two countries in October 2025 enhances protections for workers, ensuring better wage security, welfare, and health services. Crucially, it paves the way for Bangladeshi workers to play an integral role in Saudi Arabia’s transformative Vision 2030 projects.
The agreement is expected to unlock up to 300,000 new jobs in construction and giga-projects in 2026 alone, signaling that this record-breaking trend is not a peak, but a new foundation for growth.
A Relationship Built on Mutual Benefit
This record is more than a statistic; it is a story of deep, interlinked destinies. For over half a century, since the first Bangladeshis arrived in the 1970s, this partnership has provided the Kingdom with a dedicated workforce and provided Bangladesh with invaluable economic stability. Today, that relationship is maturing—evolving from sheer numbers to shared goals of skilled development, protected rights, and mutual prosperity.
As Saudi Arabia builds its future, hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi workers will be on the front lines, turning vision into reality. And in villages and towns across Bangladesh, the fruits of their labor will continue to fuel dreams, educate children, and build communities. This record is not just about the past year’s achievement; it’s a powerful signal of the journey ahead for both nations.
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