Bangladesh received $35.59 billion in remittances in the 2025–26 fiscal year, up 17.30% from $30.33 billion in the previous fiscal year, providing some relief to the economy amid mounting financial pressures.
However, growing military tensions and disruptions to air travel in the Middle East, particularly affecting Saudi Arabia, have raised concerns about whether the strong growth in remittance inflows can be sustained.
Remittances remain a crucial source of foreign currency for Bangladesh, helping maintain dollar supplies and support the country's balance of payments. Economists and migration experts warn that prolonged regional conflict could disrupt migrant workers' employment, earnings and ability to send money home.
The growth in remittances has offered some support amid sluggish private-sector credit, investment uncertainty, slower industrial activity and persistent inflation. But any prolonged disruption to overseas employment could undermine this source of economic relief.
### Saudi Arabia's growing importance
According to Bangladesh Bank data, Saudi Arabia accounted for 16.13% of Bangladesh's total remittance inflows in FY2025–26. During the first three months of the current fiscal year, remittances from the country reached around $1.65 billion, raising its share of total inflows to approximately 19%.
The increasing dependence on Saudi Arabia makes Bangladesh more vulnerable to disruptions in the country's labour market and aviation services.
Around 16,000 Bangladeshi workers are reportedly facing uncertainty because of the security situation and flight disruptions. Many are approaching the expiry of their visas and risk losing their jobs if they cannot reach their workplaces on time.
Mohammad Kamrul Islam, general manager for public relations at US-Bangla Airlines, told *Kaler Kantho* that the airline had suspended flights on its Riyadh route until October 21 because of the situation. The airline normally operates six flights a week on the route.
Around 11 flights have already been cancelled, leaving an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 passengers in Dhaka and Riyadh waiting for transportation, he said.
Even if flights resume, limited airport slots could make it difficult to clear the backlog of stranded passengers quickly.
### Overseas employment slows
Data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) show that 333,427 Bangladeshis went abroad for employment between February and August 2026. Of them, 169,646 travelled to Saudi Arabia, accounting for more than half of the total.
However, the number of Bangladeshi workers going abroad during the period fell by 38.53% compared with the same period a year earlier.
The slowdown in overseas employment, combined with uncertainty in major destination countries, has raised concerns about the future growth of remittances.
Dr Masrur Riaz, chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, told *Kaler Kantho* that the country's economy was going through a challenging period, with renewed uncertainty surrounding two major sources of foreign exchange: remittances and overseas labour markets.
He said geopolitical conflicts and limitations in opening new labour markets were slowing migration. If the conflict disrupted expatriates' earnings and their ability to transfer money, Bangladesh's remittance inflows would be directly affected.
Shariful Islam Hasan, associate director for migration at BRAC, said military conflict and insecurity in the Middle East posed significant risks to Bangladesh's overseas labour market and remittance earnings.
If the conflict continued, workers could face lower incomes, job losses and forced returns home, while money transfers to Bangladesh could also be disrupted, he warned.
### Diversifying labour markets
Economists and migration experts say Bangladesh needs to take urgent measures to protect migrant workers and sustain remittance growth.
These include ensuring the safety of Bangladeshis abroad, extending the visas of workers stranded by flight disruptions and restoring normal air travel as quickly as possible.
They also stressed the importance of expanding employment opportunities in alternative destinations, including European countries and Japan, to reduce dependence on a limited number of labour markets.
A decline in remittances could put additional pressure on the supply of US dollars, making it more difficult to finance imports of fuel, food and industrial raw materials and maintain external payment stability.
The overall impact, however, would depend on the duration of the conflict and developments in export earnings and other foreign-currency inflows.
Although the 17.30% annual increase in remittances has provided a welcome boost to Bangladesh's economy, instability in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern labour markets presents a fresh challenge to sustaining that growth.
