Saudi Arabia has retained its position as the largest overseas labour market for Bangladesh, receiving more than 4.5 million Bangladeshi workers between 2015 and June 2026, according to official data presented at a government review meeting on Sunday.

The figures were disclosed during a meeting of senior officials of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), chaired by Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser Ariful Haque Chowdhury at the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment in Dhaka.

The BMET statistics show 1,015,311 Bangladeshi workers went abroad for jobs in the 2024-25 fiscal year, and another 985,120 workers went overseas in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Data indicates that Saudi Arabia continued to be Bangladesh’s biggest labour market, with over 4.5 million workers since 2015. Oman was second with 936,000 workers, followed by Malaysia with 845,000 and Qatar with 714,000 workers during the same period.

The review also noted a record number of workers received pre-departure and skills training. In 2025, 1,103,661 prospective migrant workers underwent different training programs, including Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) and 167,419 full technical and skills development courses.

There are 104 Technical Training Centres (TTCs), six Institutes of Marine Technology (IMTs), and one Directorate of Technical Teacher Training Institute (DTTTI) now in Bangladesh providing training in 55 trades across the country, says BMET.

To help diversify overseas employment opportunities, BMET is also providing specialised language training in eight foreign languages, including Japanese, Korean, German and Italian.

The agency said 14,453 people completed driving courses aimed at promoting safe overseas employment, while modern caregiving courses have been introduced at six women's Technical Training Centres to prepare skilled female workers for international labour markets.

The meeting was attended by State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Md Nurul Haque, ministry Secretary Md Mokhtar Ahmed, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant Dr Md Shakirul Islam Khan, BMET Director General Jamil Ahmed and other senior ministry and bureau officials.

Bangladesh is one of the world's largest sources of migrant labour, with overseas employment and workers' remittances playing a significant role in supporting the country's economy and foreign exchange reserves.