Manpower is one of the major national resources of Bangladesh. About 35 million people constitute this vast reservoir of manpower. Fortunately, Bangladesh is steadily turning her manpower into an asset through training and skill development with a view to meeting the needs of a modern economy. It is not possible for Bangladesh to absorb the full range of available unskilled, semi-skilled and professional manpower within the country in an appropriate manner and hence the need to find employment opportunities for them abroad till her economy could absorb them locally. There are also a number of foreign countries who are in need of importing manpower from other countries. Today Bangladesh is considered as a good source.

With a mode beginning in 1976, Bangladesh has, by now, become a notable exporter of manpower. Between 1976 to 2019 a total of more than twelve million Bangladeshis has been able to secure employment in foreign countries, particularly in countries of the Middle East, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Brunei and few other countries through the membership of BAIRA. The Bangladeshis currently working abroad range from domestic aides to Atomic Scientists. The main objective is to ensure supply of quality manpower at a minimum cost within the time schedule given by the employers.

Until November 2019, KSA has emerged as the country recruiting highest number of Bangladeshi male workers (3,673,887 approx.) according the BMET statistics. UAE is second on the list. It hired approximately 2,240,484 male workers during the same period. At least 1,495,393 Bangladeshi workers have migrated to Oman, followed by Malaysia (1,056,999 workers) which is the fourth largest and most popular destination for the jobseekers in the recent years. KSA has also become the largest recruiter of female workers from 2016. It alone has hired around 336,725 Bangladeshi female workers until November 2019. Jordan and UAE are second and third on the list. Experts have hailed the uptrend in the number of migrant workers – both males and females. As of November 2019, our Bangladeshi migrant workers in over 160 countries has brought in a total remittance inflow of 16,667 million USD last year.