OUT-MIGRATION FROM MATLAB-A RURAL AREA OF BANGLADESH Directions, levels and differentials

Rural landlessness and pauperisation are ongoing processes in Bangladesh, forcing people to migrate to other areas or countries in search of a livelihood. The study estimates levels of and differentials in out-migration of adult Bangladeshis, and examines reasons for migration and place of destination, using longitudinally collected migration data in the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh's (ICDDR,B's) Matlab surveillance area during the periods 1997-1999 and 2006-2008. The out-migration rate increased over time (48 per cent men versus 28 per cent women). Men migrated primarily for economic reasons (73-76 per cent), and women, for familial reasons (77-78 per cent). The younger, educated and well-off were more likely to migrate to urban areas and foreign countries than their older, less educated and poorer peers, who were more likely to migrate to other rural areas. Effective steps are needed to check rural-urban migration, and its numerous adverse consequences.