Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections and the holy month of Ramadan, there has been a big jump in expatriate income in January. In the first month of this year, 3.17 billion US dollars in remittances came into the country, which is about 38 thousand 674 crore taka in local currency. This is the third highest remittance flow in the history of the country in a single month.
Bangladesh Bank said on Sunday that expatriates are sending more money to cover additional family expenses during the elections and Ramadan, resulting in a rebound in remittance flows. Earlier, $3.22 billion was received in December and the highest remittance was recorded in March last year, at $3.29 billion.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, total expatriate income stood at $32.82 billion in 2025. Remittances from July to January of the current fiscal year amounted to $19.44 billion, which is about 22 percent more than the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The central bank says that remittances through legal channels are increasing due to a decrease in money laundering and hundi and a stable dollar exchange rate in banking channels. This is having a positive impact on the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which currently stand at about $28 billion according to the IMF’s BPM-6 methodology.