49.5 lakh Bangladeshis displaced by natural disasters: IOM

The findings, launched on Wednesday by IOM in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh and development partners provide a clear picture of how floods, cyclones, river erosion, and other hazards continue to disrupt lives across the country.

Bangladesh faces repeated natural hazards every year, but until now, there was no verified nationwide estimate of how many people were forced to leave their homes due to disasters.

To close this gap, IOM conducted an extensive assessment in all eight divisions, 64 districts, 4,579 unions, 329 municipalities, and 480 city corporation wards.

The assessment collectively interviewed more than 29,000 key informants through 5,388 field visits, making it the most extensive exercise of its kind in Bangladesh.

Speaking at the event, Lance Bonneau, Chief of Mission of IOM Bangladesh, said understanding the scale of displacement is essential for effective disaster management and long-term planning.

"These findings give national authorities, local leaders and development partners a shared foundation to respond to displacement with greater clarity and coordination.”

Key assessment findings include: two out of three IDPs (63%) were displaced before April 2020, pointing to long-term, unresolved displacement across the country. One in four IDPs (25%) were displaced between April 2020 and April 2024.

The assessment found that Chattogram Division hosts the largest share of IDPs (1.21 million), followed by Dhaka (0.79 million) and Rajshahi (0.66 million). Four districts — Chattogram, Sirajganj, Bhola and Noakhali — account for a quarter of all displaced persons. Most IDPs (85%) live in rural union areas.

Representatives of the Government of Bangladesh welcomed the report as a major step toward strengthening implementation of the National Strategy on Internal Displacement Management, which calls for regular, systematic data collection on displaced populations.

Aleya Akter, Secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division, delivered virtual remarks as the chief guest. Other speakers included K M Abdul Wadud, Additional Secretary, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR); Mohammad Navid Saifullah, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC); and Eva Atanassova from the European Union.

The event included a presentation on the methodology, an official unveiling of the report and a panel discussion on how to incorporate IDP estimation into government data systems, featuring representatives from the Department of Disaster Management (DDM), Department of Environment (DoE), Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and development partners.

Partners who supported this initiative reaffirmed their commitment to work with Bangladesh in building more resilient and inclusive systems for disaster response. Representatives from the Government of Bangladesh and other   partners also attended the event.

The new estimate marks an important milestone in Bangladesh’s effort to better understand and address internal displacement, reports UNB. 

It will help guide policies on disaster preparedness, relocation planning, social protection, climate adaptation and long-term development, IOM said.