Bangladesh sent record 7.5 lakh workers to Saudi Arabia in 2025: Official
An estimated 35 lakh Bangladeshis currently live and work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, remitting over $5 billion annually
Bangladesh sent more than 750,000 workers to Saudi Arabia in 2025, setting a new record for overseas deployment to a single country, according to a senior Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) official, as reported by Arab News yesterday (2 January).
An estimated 35 lakh Bangladeshis currently live and work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, remitting over $5 billion annually. They have been joining the Saudi labour market since the 1970s and now make up the largest expatriate community there, the daily reports.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination for Bangladeshi workers last year. Of more than 11 lakh people who went abroad from Bangladesh in 2025, over two-thirds chose Saudi Arabia.
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"More than 750,000 Bangladeshi migrants went to Saudi Arabia last year," Ashraf Hossain, additional director-general at the BMET, told Arab News. "So far, it is the highest number for Bangladesh in terms of sending migrants to Saudi Arabia or any other single country in one year."
The figure represents a 16% rise from 2024, when about 628,000 Bangladeshis travelled to the Kingdom for employment.
Authorities have focused on skilled migration since Saudi Arabia launched its Skill Verification Program in Bangladesh in 2023. Bangladesh has expanded certification facilities so more candidates can be assessed by Saudi authorities, the report added.
Ashraf said more than one-third of migrants bound for Saudi Arabia last year travelled under the Skill Verification Program run by the Saudi agency Takamol.
He added that certification capacity rose from about 1,000 workers per month to around 60,000 monthly across 28 approved centers.
According to the report, the BMET has also begun training workers for the mining sector, responding to new demand in Saudi Arabia.
In October, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh signed a fresh employment agreement aimed at strengthening worker protection, ensuring wage payments, and improving welfare and health services.
The agreement is expected to open more opportunities in construction and major Vision 2030 projects, potentially creating up to 300,000 jobs for Bangladeshi workers in 2026.
