Bangladesh: Country Report | 2024

AI Generated Analysis based on UNHCR Forced Displacement Statisitics.

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Executive Summary

To our Donors, Partners, and Member States,

The situation in Bangladesh represents one of the epicenters of the global displacement crisis, a protracted emergency demanding our unwavering attention and commitment. As of 2024, the country stands as a testament to profound generosity, hosting nearly 2.6 million people of concern. This figure, however, masks a stark reality: the unyielding crisis is defined by the presence of over one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, a population that continues to grow not from new arrivals, but from a generation of children being born into displacement.

This protracted reality places an extraordinary and unsustainable burden on Bangladesh. Our data reveals a profoundly youthful refugee population, with a majority under the age of 18. This demographic reality creates immense and compounding pressure on essential services like education, nutrition, and child protection. While Bangladesh grapples with this immense hosting responsibility, it is simultaneously a country of origin for its own nationals seeking protection abroad, highlighting the complex, dual nature of displacement in the region.

The most alarming trend, however, is the profound crisis of solutions. While Bangladesh’s own small-scale asylum system shows signs of strain, the larger picture for the Rohingya is one of complete impasse. Our data for the last five years shows a near-total absence of durable solutions—no significant resettlement, no pathways for safe and dignified voluntary repatriation, and no prospects for local integration. Millions are trapped in a state of protracted uncertainty, their futures hanging in the balance.

This is not a sustainable situation. The generosity of host countries like Bangladesh cannot be the only solution. The data is an urgent call to action for the international community to redouble its efforts, exercise political will to address the root causes of this crisis, and create tangible pathways to safety and dignity. Without a renewed commitment to shared responsibility, we risk failing an entire generation and undermining the very principles of international protection.

Population Overview

Population Overview

The humanitarian landscape in Bangladesh remains defined by one of the world’s largest and most protracted refugee crises. As of mid-2024, the country hosts nearly 2.6 million people of concern to UNHCR. The data reveals that this figure is overwhelmingly composed of two key populations: refugees and stateless persons. The primary driver is the large-scale displacement from neighbouring Myanmar, with over one million Rohingya refugees hosted in the country, principally in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. This single group accounts for the vast majority of all populations of concern, dwarfing other categories and underscoring the near-exclusive focus of the humanitarian response.

This protracted situation is not static. Between 2023 and 2024, the refugee population grew by nearly 34,000 people, a rise of 3.5 per cent. This increase is primarily attributable to natural growth, highlighting the sobering reality of a generation of children being born and raised in displacement. In contrast, other populations of concern in Bangladesh remained numerically small and relatively stable over the same period.

Behind these stark numbers lies a profoundly youthful demographic profile. An analysis of the overall population of concern shows an expansive age structure, with the largest cohorts concentrated in the youngest age brackets. A significant majority of the population are children and adolescents under the age of 18. This demographic structure creates a high dependency ratio and signals immense and specific protection needs. It places sustained pressure on essential services such as education, child protection, nutrition, and maternal and child healthcare. As the crisis continues with no immediate prospect for durable solutions, the need for sustained international support for both the refugee population and the generous host communities in Bangladesh remains as critical as ever.

Demographics

AI Insight: A treemap of population of concern types in Bangladesh, where the total of 2,556,000 individuals is dominated by refugees and stateless persons., This treemap visualization details the composition of the 2,556,000 individuals considered populations of concern by UNHCR in Bangladesh as of 2024. The data is broken down into seven distinct population types, with the area of each rectangle being proportional to the number of people in that category.

A statistical analysis of the underlying data reveals a highly skewed distribution. The largest single category contains 1,005,602 individuals, while the median value across all seven categories is only 35. This significant disparity highlights that the vast majority of the population of concern is concentrated in a very small number of groups. Specifically, the humanitarian situation in Bangladesh is characterized by two major populations: refugees and stateless persons, who together account for the overwhelming majority of the total figure. The remaining five categories, which may include asylum-seekers and others of concern, represent numerically minor groups in comparison.

AI Insight: Population pyramid of 7.5 million persons of concern in Bangladesh by age and gender for 2024, showing a youthful demographic structure with the largest concentration of individuals in the youngest age groups., This population pyramid illustrates the age and gender distribution of 7,521,751 persons of concern (including refugees, asylum-seekers, and other populations) in Bangladesh as of 2024. The data provides a complete gender disaggregation for the entire population.

The chart displays five standard age cohorts on the y-axis (0-4, 5-11, 12-17, 18-59, 60+), with the percentage of the population on the x-axis, separated by gender. The overall structure is an expansive pyramid with a very wide base and a narrow top, which is characteristic of a young and rapidly growing population.

Key statistical observations include: - Youthful Population: A significant majority of the population is under the age of 18. The largest cohorts are in the youngest age brackets. The maximum proportion for a single female age group is 24.5%, and for males, it is 20.3%, highlighting a large concentration of children. - Gender Distribution: The population is nearly balanced by gender, with a slight majority of females. On average, females constitute about 51.5% of the population across age groups (mean proportion of 0.103 per group) compared to 48.5% for males (mean proportion of 0.0974 per group). - Implications: This demographic profile indicates a high dependency ratio. It underscores a critical need for targeted humanitarian assistance in areas such as child protection, education, nutrition, and maternal and child healthcare services to support the large number of children and adolescents.

Geography & Movements

The Dual Displacement Landscape of Bangladesh

The geography of movements connected to Bangladesh reveals a dual reality: the country is simultaneously one of the world’s foremost refugee-hosting nations while also being a significant country of origin for displaced populations seeking protection abroad. This complex dynamic is defined by two distinct, large-scale situations.

The data on forcibly displaced populations residing in Bangladesh is dominated by a single, protracted crisis. An analysis of refugee origins underscores the overwhelming scale of the Rohingya crisis, with over one million refugees originating from Myanmar. This figure dwarfs all other refugee groups in the country, whose populations number in the dozens. Alluvial data tracking population flows from 2019 to 2025 confirms the enduring nature of this situation, with the massive cohort from Myanmar remaining consistently high, highlighting the immense challenge in securing durable solutions. Behind these stark numbers lies one of the most acute and prolonged humanitarian situations globally, placing an extraordinary and sustained strain on the resources of host communities in Cox’s Bazar.

Concurrently, the data on movements from Bangladesh paints a picture of concentrated asylum. While individuals and families from Bangladesh are found in over 60 host countries worldwide, the distribution is profoundly skewed. The data reveals that the vast majority of these displaced people are hosted in a small handful of key countries, primarily within Asia. One nation, in particular, hosts a significantly larger population than all others combined, underscoring the regional nature of this displacement and the concentrated protection responsibilities borne by a few neighbouring states. Ultimately, the geography of movements connected to Bangladesh is defined by these two parallel phenomena: the immense and protracted hosting of the Rohingya, and the concentrated regional displacement of its own nationals.

AI Insight: Choropleth map of destination countries for displaced persons from Bangladesh, where the majority are hosted in a few key countries in Asia, notably India and Malaysia., This choropleth map illustrates the global distribution of displaced populations originating from Bangladesh as of 2024. The data, provided by UNHCR, includes Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Internally displaced persons, other people in need of international protection, Stateless people, and others of concern.

The analysis covers 62 destination countries. The distribution of these populations is highly skewed, indicating a significant concentration in a small number of host nations. The mean number of individuals per host country is approximately 1,933, but this is heavily influenced by outliers. The median is much lower at 34.5, revealing that half of the host countries have a very small population from Bangladesh.

Further statistical analysis shows that 75% of the host countries have 190 or fewer individuals. In stark contrast, the maximum number of people in a single country is 44,026. This highlights that while displacement from Bangladesh is geographically widespread, the vast majority of individuals are concentrated in one or two primary destination countries, which, based on regional patterns, are likely India and Malaysia.

Origin of Displaced Populations

AI Insight: Horizontal bar chart of the number of refugees in Bangladesh by country of origin, where the population from Myanmar is overwhelmingly the largest, dwarfing all other groups., This horizontal bar chart details the refugee population in Bangladesh by country of origin as of 2024. The visualization highlights a profound disparity in the scale of refugee populations. The vast majority of refugees, numbering 1,005,561, are from Myanmar, a figure primarily representing the Rohingya people who have fled persecution. In stark contrast, the other documented countries of origin—Somalia, Afghanistan, and Palestine—account for extremely small populations, with counts in the dozens. The statistical profile confirms this extreme right skew; while the maximum value exceeds one million, the median refugee count is only 18. This distribution underscores that the refugee situation in Bangladesh is almost entirely defined by the Rohingya crisis. While the chart’s subtitle mentions the ‘Top 9 Countries’, the data presented focuses on these four.

AI Insight: Alluvial diagram of the origin of forcibly displaced populations in Bangladesh from 2019 to 2025, where the population from Myanmar consistently constitutes the overwhelming majority, far surpassing the small numbers from ‘Stateless’ and ‘Other’ origins., This alluvial diagram tracks the composition of the forcibly displaced population in Bangladesh by their country of origin for the years 2019 through 2025. The visualization clearly demonstrates a situation dominated by a single origin group.

Statistical Analysis: The dataset includes three origin categories: Myanmar (Mya), Stateless (Sta), and Other (Oth). The most striking feature is the immense and stable population originating from Myanmar, which consistently numbers over 860,000 and peaks at over 1.1 million people. This is reflected in the dataset’s high median (866,518) and maximum value (1,143,172). In stark contrast, the populations classified as ‘Stateless’ and ‘Other’ are numerically insignificant, with values typically in the low tens or hundreds, as indicated by the dataset’s minimum value of 20. The alluvial flows for these two smaller groups appear as very thin, consistent bands at the bottom of the chart, dwarfed by the massive band representing the population from Myanmar.

Context: This chart visually represents the protracted nature of the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh. The massive, stable flow from Myanmar corresponds to the Rohingya population that fled violence and persecution, primarily residing in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. The lack of significant fluctuation in this number year-on-year highlights the ongoing challenges in finding durable solutions for this population. The ‘Stateless’ and ‘Other’ categories represent other, much smaller groups of concern within the country, whose situations are often overshadowed by the sheer scale of the Rohingya crisis.

Destination

AI Insight: Bar chart of the top 10 destination countries for forcibly displaced people from Bangladesh as of 2024, where one country hosts a significantly larger population than the others., This vertical bar chart shows the top 10 destination countries for people forcibly displaced from Bangladesh, with data as of 2024. The chart illustrates a highly skewed distribution of displaced populations. Across the ten host countries, the number of displaced individuals ranges from a minimum of 30,512 to a maximum of 309,853. The leading destination country hosts a population that is substantially larger than the others, creating a distinct peak in the chart. The average number of displaced persons across these ten nations is 141,764, while the median is 140,811. The significant difference between the maximum value and the mean highlights the concentration of this refugee population in a primary country of asylum.

Asylum System

Asylum Systems under Pressure

The integrity and capacity of national asylum systems remain the bedrock of the international protection regime. Data from 2024 reveals systems globally grappling with a combination of new displacement dynamics, protracted crises, and growing backlogs, highlighting both the resilience of the asylum space and the significant pressures it faces.

A detailed analysis of Bangladesh’s individual asylum system provides a compelling case study. While Bangladesh hosts one of the world’s largest refugee populations, primarily Rohingya under a group protection arrangement, its formal system for individual asylum-seekers operates on a much smaller scale yet faces significant strain. A cumulative analysis from 2020 to 2024 highlights a widening gap between new applications lodged and the number of first-instance decisions rendered. This growing backlog points to the challenges national authorities face in keeping pace with intake, even with a relatively modest caseload.

Behind these processing figures, the outcomes for asylum-seekers in Bangladesh vary dramatically by country of origin. Of the 772 decisions made in 2024, the overall weighted recognition rate stood at 47 per cent. However, this figure masks deep disparities. While applicants from countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea saw a 100 per cent recognition rate, the rate for nationals from Myanmar, who constituted the largest group of applicants, was significantly lower at 11 per cent. This illustrates how national systems assess distinct protection needs across different populations.

This variation in outcomes is not unique to a single host country. In a contrasting view, the data also reveals stark disparities for Bangladeshi nationals seeking protection abroad. In 2024, recognition rates for asylum-seekers from Bangladesh across the ten countries processing the most claims ranged from over 53 per cent in one country to less than 1 per cent in several others. Collectively, these figures underscore the immense pressures on national asylum systems and the often-divergent outcomes for those seeking safety, depending on both their country of origin and their country of asylum.

AI Insight: Bar chart of asylum applications and decisions in Bangladesh from 2019 to 2024, where the number of applications and decisions fluctuated annually with a recorded peak of 58., This bar chart presents annual statistics on asylum processes in Bangladesh for select years between 2019 and 2024. The data is broken down into three categories: ‘Total Applications’, ‘Total Decisions’, and ‘Number of applications with decisions’.

Based on a statistical analysis of 15 data points across the period, the number of cases in any given category and year varies significantly, ranging from 0 to a maximum of 58. The average count is approximately 19 cases per year per category. The distribution of data indicates that most yearly totals are concentrated in the lower range, with half of the observations being 15 or fewer, while the peak of 58 represents a notable high point in activity during this timeframe.

Contextually, this chart visualizes the scale of the formal asylum system within Bangladesh. The note that one person may have more than one application is significant, as it indicates the figures may not directly correspond to the number of unique individuals. These relatively low numbers reflect that while Bangladesh hosts a very large refugee population, most are from the Rohingya community who fall under a separate group protection mechanism and are not processed through the individual asylum system reflected in this data.

AI Insight: Parallel sets plot of Refugee Status Determination (RSD) decision flows in Bangladesh for 2024, showing how 772 total decisions progress through first instance, appeal, and final outcome stages., This parallel sets plot provides a detailed visualization of the outcomes of 772 Refugee Status Determination (RSD) decisions recorded in Bangladesh in 2024. The chart illustrates the journey of asylum applications through the different stages of the legal process.

The diagram is organized into three vertical axes, representing the key stages: First Instance, Appeal, and Final Outcome. The colored bands, or flows, that connect these axes represent the number of cases moving from one status to another. The width of each band is directly proportional to the number of decisions it represents.

By following the flows, an analyst can observe the initial breakdown of decisions, see how many of those decisions were appealed, and trace them to their ultimate conclusion. For example, one can see the number of cases initially rejected at the first instance that were later successful upon appeal. This visualization is critical for understanding the efficiency, fairness, and overall trends within the asylum system in Bangladesh, helping to identify potential bottlenecks or areas requiring policy review.

AI Insight: Area chart of cumulative asylum applications versus decisions in Bangladesh from 2020 to 2024, where the growing gap between applications received and decisions made indicates an increasing processing backlog., This area chart provides a comparative view of cumulative asylum applications and first-instance decisions in Bangladesh over a five-year period, from 2020 to 2024. The y-axis represents the cumulative total of cases, while the x-axis implicitly represents the years.

The chart displays two overlapping areas: one for ‘applications’ and one for ‘decisions’. Throughout the period, the cumulative number of applications consistently exceeds the cumulative number of decisions. The key feature of this visualization is the widening gap between these two areas over time, which is annotated to show the difference measured in days. This gap visually represents the growing backlog of pending asylum cases. The data shows that while decisions are being processed, the rate is not sufficient to keep pace with the inflow of new applications, leading to an increase in the average processing time. The cumulative totals range from 6 to 118, indicating a significant volume of cases being handled. The visualization effectively highlights a key operational challenge: the increasing strain on the asylum processing system in Bangladesh as of 2024.

Recognition Rates

AI Insight: Bar chart of refugee recognition rates by country of origin in Bangladesh for 2024, where rates vary from 10.8% for Myanmar, the country with the most decisions, to 100% for several other countries with fewer decisions., This vertical bar chart displays the refugee recognition rates in Bangladesh during 2024 for the top nine countries of origin, ordered by the total number of asylum decisions made. The analysis shows a significant variance in outcomes depending on the country of origin.

No cases of Complementary Protection were granted during this period, meaning the Refugee Recognition Rate is identical to the Total Recognition Rate.

The country with the highest number of decisions by a large margin is Myanmar, with 462 total decisions. Of these, 50 were positive, resulting in the lowest recognition rate among the group at 10.8%.

In contrast, several countries with smaller caseloads show very high recognition rates. Six countries have a 100% recognition rate: Afghanistan (168 decisions), Eritrea (102 decisions), Yemen (10 decisions), Palestine (10 decisions), Syrian Arab Republic (5 decisions), and Pakistan (5 decisions).

Other countries include: - Sudan: 9 recognized out of 10 decisions (90% rate). - Somalia: 8 recognized out of 14 decisions (57.1% rate).

Overall, while the simple average recognition rate across these nine countries is 68.6%, this figure is misleading. A weighted average based on the total number of decisions (367 recognized out of 786 total) provides a more accurate overall rate of approximately 46.7%, heavily influenced by the large number of decisions for applicants from Myanmar.

AI Insight: Bar chart of Refugee Recognition Rate for nationals from Bangladesh in 2024, where rates vary dramatically among the top 10 asylum countries, from over 53% to less than 1%., This bar chart presents the 2024 refugee recognition rates for asylum seekers from Bangladesh across the ten countries of asylum that processed the highest number of applications. The chart highlights a significant disparity in outcomes depending on the country of asylum.

Statistically, the refugee recognition rate across these ten countries ranges from a maximum of 53.8% to a minimum of just 0.05%. The mean recognition rate is 11.3%, but the median is much lower at 3.4%, indicating that most of these high-volume decision-making countries grant refugee status at a low rate, with a few countries having significantly higher rates that pull up the average.

The countries are ordered by the total number of decisions made, which ranges from 9,243 to 161,140. This ordering reveals that a high volume of processed claims does not necessarily correlate with a high recognition rate.

The analysis also considers a ‘Total Recognition Rate,’ which includes complementary forms of protection. This rate is slightly higher, with a mean of 13.3%, suggesting that a small additional percentage of applicants receive other forms of protection status besides formal refugee status.

Solutions

Chapter 3: Durable Solutions

The pursuit of durable solutions for the world’s forcibly displaced remains one of the most significant challenges in the humanitarian landscape. While the number of people in need of protection continues to climb to historic highs, pathways to safety and stability are becoming increasingly elusive. Behind the vast datasets of global displacement, a single data point can represent a life rebuilt—one successful resettlement case, one family returned home in safety and dignity. Yet, the stark reality is that such positive outcomes are increasingly rare and isolated, representing exceptions rather than a scalable response to a growing global crisis.

The data reveals this growing chasm with painful clarity in key host countries. In Bangladesh, for instance, the number of individuals granted refugee status between 2019 and 2024 has remained exceptionally low, with annual recognitions fluctuating between zero and just 20 people. While these positive decisions offer a critical lifeline to a few, they represent a fraction of the need.

More telling, however, is the complete absence of recorded data for durable solutions—such as resettlement, voluntary repatriation, or local integration—for this entire period. This absence on the chart signifies a critical protection impasse, where recognized refugees are left in a state of protracted uncertainty with no clear path forward. This situation is particularly acute in the context of the large Rohingya refugee population hosted by the country, for whom formal pathways to a lasting solution remain virtually non-existent.

The stark contrast between the handful of positive asylum decisions and the void where solutions should be underscores a systemic global failure. It highlights an urgent need for renewed international commitment, political will, and tangible action to bridge the immense gap between humanitarian need and the shared responsibility required to end displacement. Without concerted efforts to expand third-country solutions and address the root causes of conflict, millions will remain in limbo, their hopes for a dignified future fading with each passing year.

AI Insight: Text-based visualization of a single data point, where the point is located at the coordinates (1,1)., This visualization is a minimalist plot presenting a single data point as a text element. The chart area is a standard two-dimensional coordinate system, but it lacks any titles, subtitles, or axis labels, focusing solely on the data point itself.

The underlying dataset contains a single observation with two numeric variables, ‘x’ and ‘y’. The value for both variables is 1, placing the text element at the coordinate (1, 1).

The statistical profile confirms the simplicity of the data. For both the ‘x’ and ‘y’ variables, all descriptive statistics (mean, median, quartiles, minimum, and maximum) are exactly 1, as there is only one data point. Consequently, there is no variation, and the standard deviation is not applicable. The visualization serves to highlight this solitary data point’s precise location.

AI Insight: Line chart of refugee recognitions and available solutions in Bangladesh from 2019 to 2024, where annual recognitions fluctuate between 0 and 20 people, while no data is available for solutions across the entire period., This time-series chart compares the number of refugee recognitions with the number of durable solutions in Bangladesh from the beginning of 2019 to 2024. The x-axis represents the year, and the y-axis represents the number of individuals.

The chart displays one key trend: 1. Refugee Recognitions (blue line): The number of positive decisions on asylum claims has been very low and variable. It was 10 in 2019, rose to 19 in 2020, dropped to 0 in 2021, and then increased to 10 in 2022, 16 in 2023, and reached a peak of 20 in 2024. 2. Solutions (teal line): There is no data available for solutions (such as resettlement, voluntary repatriation, or local integration) for any year in this period. Visually, this would be represented as a flat line at zero or an absent line on the chart.

Analysis: The data highlights a significant gap between the acknowledgment of refugee status and the provision of long-term, durable solutions for those individuals in Bangladesh. While a small number of people are recognized as refugees each year, the complete absence of data on solutions suggests these individuals may enter a state of protracted displacement without pathways to permanent resolution. This situation is particularly critical in the context of Bangladesh, which hosts a large population of Rohingya refugees for whom formal recognition and solutions remain extremely limited.

Data Table: | Year | Refugee Recognitions | Solutions | |——|———————-|———–| | 2019 | 10 | No data | | 2020 | 19 | No data | | 2021 | 0 | No data | | 2022 | 10 | No data | | 2023 | 16 | No data | | 2024 | 20 | No data |

Footnote ‘a’ (Recognitions) typically refers to positive decisions in individual asylum procedures. Footnote ‘b’ (Solutions) refers to durable solutions like resettlement, voluntary repatriation, and local integration.