IOM this week published the results of a national household survey
on patterns of remittances sent home by Bangladeshi migrants
working abroad.

The IOM-backed study, which was first of its kind in Bangladesh,
was funded by the United Kingdom and conducted by Mitra &
Associates Ltd.

Conducted over a period of four months in 2009, it targeted
10,565 households across the country, gathering information on
socio-economic profiles, the size of the remittances, the channels
through which they were sent, and how they were used by the
receiving households.

The survey showed that 98.3 per cent of the migrants were male
and that their average age was 32. Most of them had little
education and 60 per cent were married. Just over 90 per cent said
they send the remittances back to their families. More than 70 per
cent used formal payment methods, such as money transfer operators
or banking institutions.

The remittances were shown to have led to improvements in diet
and educational opportunities among most receiving households. But
paying back loans was also a primary obligation.

The survey showed that the migrants generally enjoyed higher per
capita income than non-migrants. But their limited resources and
assets, and their high level of debt, made them vulnerable to
external shocks, such as the global economic crisis.

Speaking at the launch, IOM Regional Representative for South
Asia Rabab Fatima said that the survey should help policymakers "to
promote pro-poor economic growth, improve access to remittance
transfer services and help reduce the cost of remitting money."

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman, who attended the
launch with the Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and
Overseas Employment and other guests, welcomed the survey, calling
for "new initiatives including mobile and digital banking, and bank
accounts for farmers, to promote safer transfer of
remittances."

Other speakers called for government steps to reduce the social
cost of migration, improve quality of life and ensure the human
rights of migrants. They also stressed the need to train migrants
and their families in better ways to transfer and utilize
remittances.

For more information please contact:

Asif Munier

IOM Dhaka

Tel. +880.1714114659

E-mail: "mailto:amunier@iom.int">amunier@iom.int

or

Farhana Chowdhury

Tel. +880.2.988.9765

E-mail: "mailto:fchowdhury@iom.int">fchowdhury@iom.int