Remittance Hits $8.59 Billion in Three Months: Over Half Goes to Dhaka, Rangpur Gets Least

More than half of the remittance flowing into the country is going to Dhaka Division. Of the $8.5925 billion in remittance that arrived in the first three months of the current fiscal year (July–September), Dhaka Division received $4.4842 billion, which is 52.20 percent of total expatriate income, according to a Bangladesh Bank report.

At the other end, Rangpur Division received the least — only $90.8 million. The huge gap between divisions within the same country has sparked fresh discussion about the geographic distribution of expatriate income.

In the division-wise tally, Chittagong stands second after Dhaka, receiving $2.2815 billion in the three months. Sylhet Division, in third place, received $766.8 million.

In addition, Khulna Division received $361.9 million, Rajshahi $290.4 million, Barisal $163.3 million and Mymensingh Division $153.5 million in remittance.

Dhaka also tops the list as a single district. Between July and September, $3.1319 billion arrived in the district, about 36.4 percent of the country's total remittance.

Chittagong district follows with $598.1 million. Cumilla received $548.4 million, Sylhet $426.9 million, Noakhali $266.3 million, Brahmanbaria $234.3 million and Feni $212.9 million.

The lowest amounts arrived in Panchagarh, Lalmonirhat and Rangamati districts. In three months Panchagarh received $410,000, Lalmonirhat $490,000 and Rangamati $500,000. Thakurgaon received $790,000, Khagrachhari $840,000 and Sherpur $10.4 million.

Bangladesh Bank executive director and spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said the amount of district-wise remittance depends on where expatriates live, where their families are located, and banking activity.

He added that family members of expatriates from many districts live in Dhaka and receive money through Dhaka banks, which is why the Dhaka figure appears higher. It would therefore be wrong to conclude that a district receiving more remittance necessarily has more people working abroad.

Those concerned say the number of people working abroad, their income, and the destination to which they send money home create the large differences between divisions and districts.

Because population, business and banking activity are concentrated in Dhaka, the flow of expatriate income is higher there. Districts such as Sylhet, Chittagong, Cumilla and Noakhali also see significant remittance flows.

The report shows that while expatriate income is a lifeline of the national economy, its benefits are not spreading evenly geographically; banking facilities and family location largely determine how much is recorded in each district's account.

Attention will now be on whether this gap narrows in the coming quarters and whether the tendency to send remittance through formal banking channels rises in the lagging divisions.