Youth unemployment in Bangladesh: What holds us back

Bangladesh is at a demographic juncture, with one of the largest young populations in South Asia. Higher education has grown at an unprecedented rate over the past decade, resulting in increasing university graduates annually. However, a concerning contradiction casts a shadow over this accomplishment. According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in 2024, there is a significant number of unemployed youths with degrees in Bangladesh. Of those young people with bachelor's degrees, 0.885 million (885,000) were unemployed, and the graduate unemployment rate increased to 13.5 per cent. This illustrates a recurring issue in Bangladesh's labour market, where opportunities have not increased sufficiently to accommodate the rising educated youth population, resulting in an increasingly severe educated youth unemployment crisis. The paradox becomes more striking when compared to neighbouring India, where graduate unemployment stands at 11.2 per cent. For a country on the verge of leaving the Least Developed Country (LDC) category in 2026, this gap between educational production and economic absorption poses both a significant problem and exceptional opportunity. The window for capitalising on this demographic advantage is narrowing, as Bangladesh's youths bulge will begin to decline by 2030, making immediate action critical.

The present state of higher education and youth unemployment reveals a complicated scenario of growth with considerable difficulties. Over the past 20 years, Bangladesh's higher education industry has grown remarkably. In 2023, gross tertiary enrolment reached 23.77 per cent, representing notable increases at both state and private universities. The percentage of young graduates from postsecondary education programmes reached 1.21 per cent in 2019, according to World Bank data, indicating consistent advancements in educational accessibility for Bangladesh's youths. Both government funding and private sector participation have fuelled this growth, resulting in a diverse educational environment with differing specialisations. Private universities now constitute approximately 60 per cent of all higher education institutions, creating new pathways for young entrepreneurs.

However, youth unemployment remains shockingly high despite higher educational attainment. According to the BBS Labour Force Survey, the country's tertiary-educated youth unemployment rate rose to 13.5 per cent in 2024 from 13.1 per cent the previous year. This shows a serious mismatch between skills young people learn in school and what employers need. Young women graduates face even greater challenges, with unemployment rates reaching 16.8 per cent compared to 11.2 per cent for young men. An estimated 12,000 computer science and engineering (CSE) youth graduates are produced yearly, far exceeding the local market capacity, which generates just 5,000 new entry-level tech jobs annually. This oversupply has created a highly competitive environment where even top-performing young graduates struggle to secure employment, leading many youths to consider emigration or entrepreneurship as alternative paths.

The significant discrepancy between market demands and academic curricula is one of the main causes of youth unemployment amongst graduates. Many young graduates fail basic competency examinations in critical areas, including research skills, coding, mathematics, and English, whilst employers frequently report serious skill gaps among new youth workforce entrants. The majority of Bangladesh's educational system remains exam-driven and theoretical, emphasising rote memorisation over creativity, critical thinking, and real-world application that young entrepreneurs need. Industry surveys show that 78 per cent of employers require additional training periods of six to 12 months for fresh youth graduates. The World Bank's conclusion that 12 years of education in Bangladesh corresponds to only 6.3 learning-adjusted years elsewhere, placing young people at a grade 7 level globally, serves as proof of this educational quality deficit affecting the youth.

Systemic problems persist even though gross tertiary enrolment rates reached 23.77 per cent in 2023. For example, only 10 per cent of grade 5 pupils demonstrated competency in Bangla in 2017, down from 26 per cent in 2011, and only 16 per cent in arithmetic, down from 30 per cent in 2011. The National Student Assessment (2022) emphasises this situation more dramatically, with just 39 per cent of grade 3 children achieving basic arithmetic competency, down from 58 per cent in 2013, and 51 per cent in Bangla, down from 75 per cent in 2013. These declining foundational skills create a cascading effect throughout the education system, with students entering higher education lacking prerequisite knowledge for advanced learning. These patterns highlight a system that does not foster the critical thinking, creativity, and practical abilities necessary for the twenty-first-century workforce.

An overabundance of graduates in conventional professions like commerce and humanities, combined with acute shortages in high-demand sectors like technology and engineering, presents a serious dual problem. Whilst companies in the ICT sector struggle to fill an expected 200,000 tech positions due to competent worker shortages, the unemployment rate among young people with higher education jumped to 27.8 per cent in 2022 from 9.7 per cent in 2013. The situation is particularly acute in rural areas, where 89 per cent of graduates in traditional fields remain unemployed for more than 18 months after graduation. The structural mismatch is exacerbated by the notable fact that only 10,000 IT graduates are generated annually, despite a requirement of over 450,000 by 2025.

Additionally, the healthcare industry faces severe skilled worker shortages. In Bangladesh, there were just 9.9 physicians, nurses, and midwives for every 10,000 people, well below the recommended sustainable development goals (SDGs) benchmark. The Covid-19 pandemic further exposed these vulnerabilities, with healthcare institutions struggling to maintain adequate staffing levels. The lack of coordinated strategic policy to direct educational institutions on programme offerings based on market demands reflects this discrepancy.

Notable differences exist between institutions; private universities tend to respond to market demands more quickly, whilst public universities encounter significant infrastructure and bureaucratic barriers. For example, Dhaka University's research budget was only 2.08 per cent of its total budget in FY 2025-26. This research funding crisis has resulted in a 60 per cent decline in peer-reviewed publications from Bangladeshi institutions over the past five years. Chronic administrative mismanagement, such as overcrowded dormitories where two students frequently share a single bed, exacerbates these limitations. Furthermore, salary, benefits, and operating expenses consume more than 92 per cent of Jahangirnagar University's budget, leaving little remaining for infrastructure improvements or innovation.

A recent study found that 93 per cent of respondents support banning college politics because of its detrimental effects on the learning environment, demonstrating how intense political mobilisation seriously impairs academic productivity. Student political activities have been linked to a 23 per cent reduction in classroom hours annually. Additionally, 38 per cent of teachers report experiencing harassment over grading decisions, and 44 per cent of educators recall changing grades at student or parent requests. Furthermore, one in six grades was found to be below the student's true competency level, and 60 per cent of middle and high school course grades were shown to be erroneous in relation to performance on standardised tests.

To address significant labour inequalities, Bangladesh needs data-driven educational planning. Given that 23 per cent of primary and 30 per cent of secondary teachers lack professional training, curriculum modernisation is urgently needed. Teacher training programmes must be expanded with particular emphasis on digital literacy and contemporary pedagogical methods. Since only 19 per cent of technical education enrolments reflect misalignment, despite potential for employment abroad, where 71 per cent of Bangladeshi workers are low or semi-skilled, it is imperative to strengthen industry-academia collaboration through advisory committees and dynamic programme reviews. Regional skill development centres could bridge the gap between theoretical education and practical application. Expanding technical education, which presently accounts for only 19 per cent of enrolment, is essential to reducing graduate unemployment (13.54 per cent) and capitalising on the youth demographic. Reforms are necessary, nonetheless, since the education budget's allocation of 1.53 per cent of GDP in FY 2025-26 remains well below UNESCO's target of 4-6 per cent. A comprehensive education financing strategy, including innovative funding mechanisms such as education bonds and public-private partnerships, could help bridge the resource gap whilst ensuring sustainable investment in youth development.

Dr Tasnimul Islam is assistant professor at Army Institute of Business Administration Sylhet (Army-IBA).

drtasnim@aibasylhet.edu.bd