Number of Rohingya Refugees Leaving Bangladesh by Boat Tripled in First Half of 2025, Including at Least 87 Children

The number of Rohingya refugees who left Bangladesh by boat in the first six months of the year tripled compared to last year, as conditions for children in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camps continue to deteriorate and funding cuts reduce essential services, Save the Children said.^[1]

About 1,088 Rohingya refugees embarked on sea journeys from Bangladesh during the first six months of this year, with around 87 of them children, compared to 364 people during the same period last year, according to figures from the UNHCR.^[2] As the rainy season ends and the situation in the camps continues deteriorate, with increasing crime and reducing services, more families are contemplating whether to leave and brave dangerous boat journeys in search of a better life.

Rahim*, 20 years old, who lives in one of the camps in Cox’s Bazar, said he’s contemplated fleeing the camps:

[i"Life in the camp is getting harder every day. There’s no proper work, no chance to study.[/i]

[i"Also, I believe that if I could cross the sea and go abroad, I could support my family financially. Many of my friends talk about going to Malaysia, they think it’s the only way to build a future and support their families. I also thought about it once, but after hearing how some people were caught, beaten, or never came back, I’m scared. Still, when you see no hope here, it’s difficult not to dream of leaving"[/i]

Reduced funding, which has led to cuts in essential services like education and healthcare, and international aid cuts have meant that this has been a particularly difficult year for children living in the world’s largest refugee camp.

Traditionally, Rohingya refugees looking to leave Bangladesh have taken to sea in October, at the end of the region’s rainy season, on journeys that are often fraught with danger, including for children who risk abuse at sea and sometimes travel unaccompanied without their parents or guardians.

Abeda Sultana, Senior Project Officer for Child Poverty at Save the Children, said:

[i"As an aid worker, I see that limited livelihood options and growing insecurity in the camps are major reasons why many Rohingya youth take the risk of migrating irregularly.[/i]

Economic pressure and the need to support their families also push youth to take such high risks. Hearing success stories from peers who migrated successfully continues to encourage others to follow the same unsafe routes"

Save the Children is calling on donors to urgently increase funding for education, livelihoods, and improved security in the camps to address the desperation driving dangerous sea journeys. It urges regional governments to allow boats to safely disembark and to provide assistance and protection to refugees. Regional cooperation and responsibility-sharing are essential to prevent further loss of life and protect vulnerable children and families.

Save the Children has been working in Cox’s Bazar since 2012 and increased activities significantly following the 2017 exodus of refugees to Bangladesh with programs in education, health and nutrition, food, water, shelter and child protection services.

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NOTES 

*Name changed.

[1] 1,088 people left Bangladesh by boat between 1 January and 30 June 2025 compared to 364 during the same period in 2024 according to the UNCHR’s dashboard. https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/myanmar

[2] UNHCR https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/myanmar

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