Bangladesh is failing to capitalise on its demographic dividend as job creation lags behind population growth. Over the past decade, a surge in young people far outpaced the growth of the elderly, yet the economy failed to generate employment to match. The industrial sector has created too few jobs, driving young workers into farming, self-employment and informal labour. Economists warn the growing share of employment in agriculture could have a major negative structural impact on the labour market.
An International Labour Organization working paper and a World Bank report on agricultural jobs show that 45 percent of young Bangladeshis now work in agriculture, alongside 17 percent in industry and 38 percent in services. As recently as 2017, 72.3 percent of working Bangladeshi youth were employed outside agriculture; that share dropped to 58.3 percent in 2022 and to 48 percent in 2024 as more young people returned to farming each year.
Against this backdrop, Bangladesh joins the rest of the world in marking International Youth Day on Wednesday under the theme “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations”.
Broader labour force survey data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reflect the same trend across the entire workforce. Agriculture’s share of total employment rose from 40.6 percent in the 2016–17 fiscal year to nearly 44.7 percent in 2024, reaching 45 percent in 2025 — an increase of nearly five percentage points in eight years. Over the same period, industry’s share fell from 20.42 percent to 17.36 percent, while services slipped from 38.9 percent to 37.5 percent.
The share of employment in agriculture is rising, while falling in both industry and services. Economists describe the shift as deeply troubling for an economy undergoing such rapid demographic change. Large groups of young people enter the labour market each year, yet the economy’s ability to steer them into productive, well-paid jobs continues to shrink.
Agriculture continues to absorb far too many workers, said Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, an economist and chairman of the research group RAPID.
He told Bonik Barta: “Educated young people are moving into farming, while large numbers of women are entering agricultural work as unpaid family labour — a sector where productivity remains extremely low. Young people are not moving into industry and services at the same rate.”
“We are now facing a critical and structural challenge,” Razzaque said. “Bangladesh is failing to create enough jobs in modern productive sectors — manufacturing and services. Developed countries moved workers out of agriculture and into those sectors. But Bangladesh has yet to make that transition. Creating employment in manufacturing and services is becoming increasingly challenging.”
UNFPA figures show Bangladesh has roughly 116.4 million working-age people, defined as those aged 15 to 64, accounting for 65 percent of the population. A World Bank analysis found that roughly 14 million young people entered the labour market between 2016 and 2022, yet the economy generated only 8.7 million new jobs over the period, leaving 5.3 million without work.
The World Bank analysis also noted that around 85 percent of national employment remains informal, a sector marked by low productivity and low wages. For Bangladesh, the challenge lies not simply in generating jobs, but in creating productive, quality employment.
A separate UNFPA study found that 67.2 percent of Bangladeshi youth worry deeply about conflict, economic uncertainty and environmental risks. Asked about their readiness to have children, 88 percent cited financial stability as important and 87 percent cited permanent employment. Jobs and income are thus shaping not only young people’s immediate livelihoods, but their decisions on family and the future.
The demographic window is narrowing fast, and women face an even steeper climb, a senior World Bank official has warned.
Jean Pesme, the Bank’s Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, told Bonik Barta: “With Bangladesh’s working-age population expected to peak in 2045, the window to benefit from its demographic dividend is closing fast. Women face the steeper barriers: with 2 in 3 women in low-productivity self-employment or subsistence production. Around 1 million women reach working age each year, yet female labour force participation fell from 42.8 percent in 2022 to 38.4 percent in 2024. Reversing this trend demands urgent, targeted action. To create more and better jobs, Bangladesh needs to restore its economic fundamentals and foster private investment as foundations of an inclusive growth. This requires addressing three key gaps: skills, infrastructure, and smart regulation.”
Education and training must be aligned with labour market demand and built around stronger industry linkages, Pesme said, adding that expanding reliable energy and transport beyond the Dhaka–Chattogram corridor would support firm growth, with private investment helping fill financing needs.
“A more competitive business environment, including simpler regulations, lower trade and FDI barriers, improved logistics, and better access to finance for MSMEs, can spur investment and create jobs.”
Plan International Bangladesh, which works with the government’s Department of Youth Development on employment, said young people account for about 78.8 percent of the country’s total unemployed. Among highly educated youth, the rate reaches 31.5 percent, driven largely by a severe skills mismatch between education and market demand. Fast-growing sectors such as ICT and manufacturing are short of skilled workers, yet thousands of degree-holders cannot find suitable work.
Kabir Ahmed, the organisation’s adviser for youth economic empowerment, argued that business incubation centres should be made mandatory in public and private universities through the University Grants Commission. In addition, certain sectors should be required to employ nationally recognised skilled youth workers before a trade licence is issued.
“The most urgent change in youth development is a shift in perspective,” Dr Noor Mohammad, executive director of the Population Services and Training Centre, told Bonik Barta, arguing that the youth must move from passive beneficiaries to co-creators of policy.
“Young people are not mere beneficiaries. They are policy co-creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and community leaders. Whether on climate change, education reform, healthcare or employment, they deserve a meaningful seat at the table when policies affecting them are framed.”
The government has taken steps to reduce youth unemployment and expand job opportunities. Outlining those efforts, Motaher Hossain, director general of the Department of Youth Development, told Bonik Barta: “Our main goal is to equip the country’s large youth population, many of whom have yet to acquire the technical skills they need, with those skills and provide the support required to become self-reliant. We have also launched a nationwide training programme in artificial intelligence (AI). These programmes are designed to meet the needs of the current global economy. These efforts have gradually started to become visible within about six months of the government taking office.”
Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury told Bonik Barta that work is underway to build a globally competitive workforce across 55 trades tailored to international market demand. “Training covers eight languages, alongside technical and vocational courses. To ensure safe employment, the department has also successfully introduced driving and caregiving courses, while training programmes are in place for workers seeking jobs abroad,” the minister said. “Our aim is to secure employment for young people, reduce unemployment and bring them into productive economic activity.”