Chapter 06

Session 04

Urbanization & Migration in Bangladesh

Prepared by Sharmen Shahria Ferdush
Urbanization is an increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities..

At least 50% of the country's population will live in urban areas by 2041, projected
Nazrul Islam, chairman of the Centre for Urban Studies (CUS). In 1971, only 5% of
the country's population lived in urban areas, which jumped to 15% in 1981, 20%
in 1991, and 23% in 2001.

Industrialization
Industrialization is a major cause of urbanization. I
It has expanded employment opportunities. Rural people have migrated to cities on
account of better employment opportunities.

Many social factors such as the

• The attraction of cities,
• better standard of living,
• better educational facilities,
• and need for status
also induce people to migrate to cities.

Poverty, natural disasters, landlessness, lack of resources.

Better standard of living, well-paid jobs, good education and health care, greater
opportunity to find casual and informal work, and entertainment.

Temporary Migration:
For temporary migrants the change to an urban address lasts less than six months,
people in this category include:
 • Seasonal workers, such as those taking up temporary jobs on building sites to
supplement their income from agriculture.
• Short-term visitors who stay with family or friends.
• Migrants who decide that they do not like urban life and return to their rural
homes.
Seasonal migration is a common type of temporary migration in Bangladesh.
• During the year, when farm work is held up by floods or any other natural
events, people often seek casual work in towns and cities.

Finally, it should be noted that in many developed cities,

rural-urban migration is being reversed.
• An increasing number of people are moving out of the largest cities and are
settling either in small cities and towns or in the countryside. This is termed as
‘Counter-Urbanization’.
This has yet to happen in Bangladesh.
• In Bangladesh people shift from rural areas into urban centers which is known
as suburbanization.