- Bangladesh hosts around 1.2 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar's Rakhine state
- Most Rohingya fled Myanmar after 2017 military attacks that burned entire villages
- Over 75% of refugees are women and children, reliant on humanitarian aid for survival
As Bangladesh prepares for its upcoming general elections, the Rohingya refugee issue is once again part of a broader discussion. Bordering Myanmar, Bangladesh has been hosting around 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, the largest concentration in Asia.
For decades, the Rohingyas have been denied citizenship in Myanmar, leaving them stateless and stripped of basic rights.
Rohingyas Entered Bangladesh
In the 1970s and 1990s, a few thousand Rohingyas fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh to escape violence, discrimination, and military crackdowns. In 2017, the situation exploded when the Myanmar military launched a large-scale attack on Rohingya villages.
Entire villages were burnt, and over 7.5 lakh people, half of them children, fled to Bangladesh within a few weeks. Most Rohingya refugees live in Kutupalong and Nayapara camps in Cox's Bazar, southern Bangladesh, making up one-third of the total population.
Over 75 per cent of the refugee population is women and children. Around 95 per cent of Rohingya households rely on humanitarian assistance for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
How Bangladesh Became Home To Rohingyas
Bangladesh shares a long border with Myanmar's Rakhine state, where most Rohingya live. For people fleeing sudden violence, crossing into Bangladesh was the fastest and easiest escape route.
Other neighbouring countries, like India, Thailand, and Malaysia, are farther away or harder to reach, and the Rohingya often face stricter border controls there.
Bangladesh has not officially signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, which sets international rules for protecting refugees. Despite this, the country has taken in and supported Rohingya refugees for more than five years.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "We have the ability to feed 160 million people of Bangladesh, and we have enough food security to feed the 700,000 refugees." Bangladesh provides around $1.2 billion every year to support the Rohingya refugees.
They also relate to the Rohingya because of their own history of refugee hardship. During the 1971 Liberation War, around 10 million Bangladeshis fled to India to escape mass killings by the Pakistan military.
Refugees fleeing abroad
By 2025, the total number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Myanmar was over 3.5 million. Of these, 1.3 million people have been displaced since February 2021. More than 1 million Rohingya refugees are in Bangladesh.
Some Rohingyas risk their lives trying to reach Indonesia, Malaysia, and other countries by boat. These sea routes are extremely unsafe and have been called among the deadliest in the world. Around 1.1 lakh refugees have fled to Malaysia, and around 23,300 to India.
Many Rohingya refugees have been in Bangladesh for eight years, living in temporary camps with limited opportunities. Over 6,800 acres of forest land in Cox's Bazar have been cleared to set up refugee camps.
Other steps taken by Bangladesh
Since 2021, Bangladesh has been trying to reduce overcrowding in the 33 refugee camps. To do this, the government moved nearly 30,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char, a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, planning to resettle 100,000 Rohingya there.
The government has increased humanitarian aid and protection services on the island, such as food, healthcare, and shelter, spending over $350 million to provide facilities.
Challenges persist due to limited infrastructure, vulnerability to natural disasters like floods and cyclones, and the long-term sustainability of support for the relocated refugees.
Bangladesh works with international organisations like the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as regional powers like China and India, to address the refugee crisis.
