Forced Migration (Climate) Bangladesh

Geo Context

Country in South Asia with a population of 170 million
- 75% of Bangladesh is less than 10 m above sea level
- 80% is low-lying deltas

Climate impact on migration

• Already faces impact of climate change (monsoon rainfall, flooding, rising sea levels)

• Moonsoon rains predicted to increase by 40% by 2030

• Coastal flooding leads to salinization which affects crop yields

• Natural disasters, such as Cyclone Sidr and Cyclone Sitrang damaged 1.5 million hectares of crop land and killed almost 500,000

• In 2020, for instance, Cyclone Amphan caused 2.4 million people to be evacuated

Forced Migration

• Up to 400,000 low-income migrants arrive in Dhaka each year—many young men end up in brick factories and informal settlements, while women take domestic work under precarious conditions

• Most of this movement is internal; disasters displaced people within Bangladesh 14.7 million times from 2014 to 2023

• By 2050, the World Bank predicts there may be as many as 19.9 million internal Bangladeshi climate migrants.

Migration to India (climate, economic, family)

• In previous years, as many as 20 million people overall are believed to have migrated annually from Bangladesh to India.

  • As a larger country with a bigger economy, India offers different economic and academic opportunities. Its technology, agriculture, and other sectors are growing, with promises of paychecks to migrants.

    • Close proximity to border

    • Many Bangladeshis have families and other ties in India. The countries' shared history is reflected culturally