Bangladesh remittances hit $35.59 billion in FY2025-26 as Saudi, UK inflows surge: Minister

Bangladesh received $35.59 billion in remittances in the 2025-26 fiscal year, up from $30.33 billion a year earlier, as inflows from most major overseas labour markets recorded significant growth, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury said today.

He disclosed the figures in a written reply to a question from Nilofar Chowdhury Moni during a question-and-answer session at the Jatiya Sangsad.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

According to the minister, remittances increased from major sources including Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Italy, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, France, Australia, Jordan and Greece.

Saudi Arabia remained the largest source of remittances, with inflows rising from $4.26 billion in FY2024-25 to $5.85 billion in FY2025-26.

The United Kingdom recorded the second-highest inflow, which increased from $3.17 billion to $5.07 billion.

Remittances from the UAE rose from $4.17 billion to $4.58 billion, while those from Malaysia increased from $2.80 billion to $3.40 billion.

Inflows from Italy and Oman each rose to $2.05 billion, from $1.65 billion and $1.66 billion respectively. Remittances from Kuwait increased from $1.62 billion to $1.76 billion, while those from Qatar rose from $1.21 billion to $1.56 billion.

Singapore recorded a notable increase, with remittances rising from $0.99 billion to $1.49 billion. South Africa also saw a rise, from $0.40 billion to $0.67 billion.

Remittances from France increased from $0.34 billion to $0.47 billion, while Australia’s inflows rose from $0.20 billion to $0.26 billion.

Jordan recorded an increase from $0.17 billion to $0.25 billion, while remittances from Greece edged up from $0.19 billion to $0.20 billion.

However, the overall rise in remittances was accompanied by declines from four countries.

The United States recorded the largest fall, with remittances dropping from $4.73 billion in FY2024-25 to $3.03 billion in FY2025-26, down $1.70 billion or 35.9 percent.

Canada saw the sharpest percentage decline, with inflows halving from $0.22 billion to $0.11 billion.

Remittances from the Maldives fell from $0.14 billion to $0.12 billion, a decline of 16.4 percent, while inflows from Mauritius dropped from $0.14 billion to $0.08 billion, down 42.7 percent.