ISLAMABAD: More than 3.27 million Pakistanis have left the country for employment via government channels over the past five years, according to data presented by the federal government to the Senate. This figure represents approximately 1.3 per cent of the country’s total population.
The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD) shared that these workers were sent abroad through the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment and the Protectorate of Emigrants between 2019 and August 2024.
The ministry’s written response, presented during the Senate’s question hour in response to a query by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Masroor Ahsan, clarified that these individuals went abroad based on the demand from host countries.
Senator Ahsan had requested details regarding the number of Pakistani workers sent abroad by the government in the past five years, along with a breakdown by country. However, concerns were raised about the accuracy of the data provided.
The MOPHRD’s list included 251 countries, with “Pakistan” mistakenly listed as one of the destinations. According to the data, 50 Pakistanis were reported to have travelled to “Pakistan” for employment in 2019.
The official tally reported that 3,276,861 Pakistanis secured employment overseas through government channels. However, a regional breakdown indicated that 3,272,659 individuals travelled abroad from 2019 to August 2024.
According to Business Recorder, Punjab contributed the largest number of workers, with 1.79 million people emigrating. Other regions included Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1.02 million), Sindh (255,537), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (124,900), Islamabad Capital Territory (32,046), Balochistan (28,119), and Gilgit-Baltistan (5,436).
Saudi Arabia emerged as the top destination, with over 1.82 million Pakistani workers heading there, followed by the United Arab Emirates (708,268) and Oman (265,496).
However, conflicting figures were presented in another list, showing slightly different numbers for these countries: 1,829,907 for Saudi Arabia, 707,416 for the UAE, and 265,455 for Oman. These discrepancies extended to other countries as well.
Additionally, the data indicated that 33,652 Pakistanis moved to the United Kingdom for employment, while 3,820 travelled to the United States during the same period.