Demographic and Socioeconomic Changes Induced by the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: Dynamics and challenges of new circumstances

BRAC, UN Women, and New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC) recently concluded a study of the demographic and socioeconomic changes induced by the unprecedented reverse (urban-to-rural) migration that took place in Bangladesh following the COVID-19 lockdown. Findings from the study reveal the dire circumstances facing returnee migrants, their families, and their rural communities, including an alarmingly high incidence of child marriages among surveyed households, an explosion in household debt, and the drying up of income opportunities.