Bangladeshi Diaspora

The Bangladeshi diaspora consists of people of Bangladeshi descent who have immigrated to or were born in another country. First generation migrants may have moved abroad from Bangladesh for better living conditions, to escape poverty, or to send money back to families in Bangladesh.

The world's largest Bangladeshi diaspora population is in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, where there are almost 3 million. There are also significant diaspora populations in the other Arab states of the Persian Gulf, particularly the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, where Bangladeshis are mainly classified as foreign workers. The United Kingdom's 2001 census found 300,000 British Bangladeshi mainly concentrated in east London boroughs (Tower Hamlets and Newham); the migration to Britain is mainly linked with chain migration from the Sylhet region (95% of population). Besides the UK and Middle East, Bangladeshis also have a significant presence in the United States, mainly in New York (where many are also from Sylhet, Chittagong, and other regions), in Far Eastern countries such as Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, and in other Western countries such as Italy, Canada, Australia.