WNAM MONITORING: More than 230,000 Pakistanis migrated to the UAE last year in search of greener pastures, authorities from the South Asian country have said.
The UAE was the second top destination for Pakistanis —who accounted for 26.77 per cent of the total number of people who migrated from South Asian countries in 2023 — said the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BE&OE) and Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC).
Several professionals — such as doctors, engineers and white-collar workers in the field of IT — migrated out of the country due to the lack of job opportunities in the South Asian nation, sparking fears of brain drain.
Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region were the top migration destinations as 862,625 Pakistanis went abroad globally for livelihood, authorities said.
Saudi Arabia was the No. 1 choice, with 426,951 Pakistanis moving to the kingdom for jobs, based on the data published in Pakistan Economic Survey 2023-24.
Oman employed 60,046 Pakistani workers, accounting for 7 per cent, while Qatar offered jobs to 55,112 individuals. Bahrain and Malaysia hosted 13,345 and 20,905 workers, respectively.
More than 13.53 million Pakistanis have gone abroad through official procedures to work in more than 50 countries until April 2024.
About 96 per cent of Pakistanis registered for overseas employment in GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE. They contribute to the development of the South Asian nation’s economy by sending remittances, the primary source of foreign exchange after exports.
Remittances
The UAE was also the second-largest source of remittances, which have been one of the critical sources of foreign exchange earnings for Pakistan over the years.
Pakistanis in the UAE remitted $3.7 billion during the July-March 2024 fiscal year. Saudi led with $5.1 billion, followed by the UK ($3.2 billion), the US ($2.5 billion), other GCC countries ($2.3 billion), EU ($2.6 billion), Australia ($0.5 billion) and other countries ($1.3 billion).
The Pakistani rupee has been consistently weakening against Emirati dirham over the past decade, falling from 28 in 2013-14 to 77.44 in 2023-24.
