Borders, Bread, and Belonging: Three Centuries of Migration in Bangladesh

This study examines patterns and drivers of human migration in Bangladesh from 1747 to 2025, situating mobility within long-term political, economic, and environmental transformations. Using a historical–qualitative methodology and drawing on political economy, migration systems theory, and vulnerability frameworks, the paper traces how migration has evolved from colonial labour extraction and agrarian restructuring to contemporary labour export regimes and climate-induced displacement. The analysis demonstrates that migration in Bangladesh is not an episodic response to crisis but a structurally embedded livelihood strategy shaped by surplus labour production, weak social protection, and persistent environmental stress. Internal rural–urban migration, international labour mobility, and refugee displacement are shown to be interconnected components of a broader mobility system influenced by state policy, market forces, and regional geopolitics. The findings further reveal that migration functions as an informal social protection mechanism for households, substituting for limited welfare provision while reinforcing dependence on volatile external labour markets. Gendered transformations of migration have expanded women’s economic participation but also intensified exposure to precarious labour conditions. The study concludes that migration governance in Bangladesh must be integrated with employment-centred development, climate adaptation planning, urban inclusion, and migrant rights protection. Without structural transformation, migration will remain central to household survival and national economic stability, perpetuating cycles of vulnerability despite its contribution to poverty reduction through remittances. Keywords: Bangladesh migration history; labour mobility; climate displacement; political economy of migration; remittances; refugee governance