Beneficiaries of remittance in Bangladesh spend a majority of the funds received on meeting basic needs, according to a recent study by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

As per the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2022, families of Bangladeshi expatriates and migrants invested about 20.95 percent of the total remittance that year.

Meanwhile, they put 14.95 percent of the funds into savings and spent just 2.02 percent on durable goods, leaving 62.08 percent for meeting basic needs.

However, the expenditure patterns varied between beneficiaries living in rural and urban areas.

In rural areas, basic needs accounted for some 62.10 percent of the total remittance while investments took up 21.96 percent, savings 14.31 percent and durable goods 1.63 percent.

On the other hand, beneficiaries in urban areas spent 62.02 percent of their remittance on basic needs, 18.39 percent on investment, 16.57 percent on savings and 3.02 percent on durable goods.

PREFERRED CHANNEL

The HIES also showed that among all legal channels for sending remittance, Bangladeshi expatriates and migrants preferred banks, which handled 64.46 percent of all transfers.

Mobile financial services were the second most preferred medium for transfers, accounting for 24.34 percent of the total remittance, while agents or brokers ranked third and travel agencies placed last.

DIVISION-WISE BENEFICIARIES

At the national level, beneficiaries received an average of Tk 257,500 in remittance in 2022, with those in Chattogram registering the highest average of Tk 303,230 that year, as per the HIES.

The annual average of remittance received by beneficiaries in Dhaka was Tk 262,660 while it was Tk 232,320 in Khulna, Tk 229,500 in Mymensingh, Tk 219,040 in Rangpur and Tk 162,030 in Barishal.

Syleht held the lowest position in terms of average remittance received, registering Tk 152,360 per household.

Meanwhile, migrants and expatriates from Chattogram claimed top spot in terms of remittance sent home by contributing 44.30 percent of the total amount received.

Dhaka received 35.06 percent of total remittance whereas Sylhet got 6.24 percent, Khulna 5.26 percent Rajshahi 3.01 percent, Mymensingh 2.47 percent and Barishal 2.13 percent.

Rangpur saw the lowest share of the total remittance with just 1.53 percent.