Over 860,000 Pakistanis left the country in the calendar year of 2023 abroad for education and in search of jobs, according to the recent statistics published by the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment.
The number is the highest since 2015. In 2015, the number of citizens leaving the county stood at 946,571 which is still the highest.
Analyzing the data, it reveals that during the specified period, 385,892 individuals classified as laborers and 196,575 as drivers departed the country. The emigrants also encompassed 8,741 engineers, 7,390 accountants, 3,486 doctors, and 1,533 teachers.
Breaking down the data by job categories, the report reveals that among those who left, 22,760 had high qualifications, and 45,687 were considered highly skilled. Another 314,932 were classified as skilled, 86,593 as semi-skilled, and the majority, 392,653, fell into the unskilled category.
In terms of destination, 426,951 workers migrated to Saudi Arabia, 229,894 to the United Arab Emirates, 55,112 to Qatar, and 60,046 chose Oman. Other notable destinations include Malaysia (20,905), Bahrain (13,345), Greece (2,914), Romania (4,947), and Iraq (4,307).
The recorded number is of those who were registered with the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment. People leaving directly for jobs and study abroad opportunities are not part of the data.
Read more: Brain Drain: 400,000 qualified Pakistanis left country in the first six month
The vast number of people leaving the country is alarming and signals the despondency of the nation regarding the future of Pakistan. The local job market is facing stagnation and uncertainty forcing people to look for better and promising job opportunities abroad.
Brain drain has accelerated in Pakistan for the past year, and is gaining pace with each passing day as the economic situation worsens. In the first half of the last year, more than 832,000 Pakistani youths, including 400,000 highly skilled individuals, migrated to other countries, contributing to a phenomenon known as the ‘brain drain.’
This trend has persisted over the past few years, resulting in a staggering total of 2.75 million young people leaving Pakistan in the last five years.