A good number of economically insolvent Bangladeshi nationals migrate to Libya first and then to Europe from there, according to a latest survey report.
About 95 per cent of Bangladeshis left their home country primarily because of economic reasons. Of them, 69 per cent were unemployed and actively seeking employment when they left Bangladesh.
These figures have been disclosed in a recent report styled 'Bangladeshi National in Libya' by the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The report was prepared by interviewing 405 Bangladeshi workers in Libya in 2023.
It found that the number of Bangladeshi workers staying in Libya in 2024 has increased than that in 2021.
In 2021, the number of Bangladeshis stationed in the North African country was 20,351. By June 2024, this number has increased to 21,134.
An estimated 11 per cent of the Bangladeshis had intention to continue onwards to another country.
Half of them expressed their intent to stay in Libya, while fewer reported having no definite goal (28 per cent) or intending to return home (10 per cent).
The highest number of workers illegally crosses the Mediterranean Sea to Italy followed by Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Spain and several Eastern and Central European countries.
According to the report, 98 per cent of Bangladeshis in Libya are male and 2.0 per cent female. They mainly work as construction workers, cleaners and waiters.
It shows at least 50 per cent of Bangladeshi workers go to Libya via Turkey as this route costs about Tk 500,000 each.
An estimated 30-per cent workers go through other routes that cost them more than Tk 200,000 each.
Nearly 12 per cent of workers went directly to Libya. They cost about Tk 350,000. And 8.0 per cent of them went to Libya through the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Their cost was about Tk 500,000.
However, 13,773 Bangladeshis arrived in Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Spain in 2023 by sea - a decrease of 16 per cent compared to 16,487 in 2022.
Some 1,668 Bangladeshis who attempted the Central Mediterranean sea crossing were intercepted and sent back to Libyan shores in 2023 - a decrease of 63 per cent compared to 2022 when 4,451 were intercepted.
The data was collected by the IOM Libya's search and rescue team.
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