Highest number of skilled nationals left country in 2022

ISLAMABAD: The past 10-year record shows that the highest number of highly skilled nationals of Pakistan left the country in 2022 in search of jobs.

Accumulatively, in the past decade, approximately 150,059 highly qualified nationals of Pakistan left the country for jobs abroad. 

The Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment record unfolds that the lowest number of highly qualified nationals left Pakistan in 2020. They were 5121. The past 10-year record reflects that the highest number of nationals whether highly qualified, highly skilled or unskilled left the country in 2015. Over 9.4 million people left Pakistan for job opportunities this year, whereas the lowest number left Pakistan in 2020.

It is pertinent to mention here that according to experts, during the Covid years of 2020-2021, the number of outgoing Pakistanis for jobs was the lowest due to global restrictions on traveling. In addition, the record from 1971 till now reflects that most people went abroad from Rawalpindi. Over 3.3 million people traveled abroad since 1970 from this only district and 6.46 million Pakistanis went to Saudi Arabia in search of job since 1971. In 2013, 12,057 highly qualified people left Pakistan for jobs abroad. In 2014, 14,647 highly qualified nationals left Pakistan for work. The total number of nationals who left in the same year was 752,466. The data shows that in 2015, over 9.4 million people left Pakistan in search of job out of whom 17,484 were highly qualified. In 2016; 839,353 people left the country for job opportunities abroad. Out of these, the highly qualified were 16,510.

In 2017; 16,029 highly qualified nationals left Pakistan out of a total of 496,286. In 2018; 16,105 highly skilled nationals of Pakistan went abroad for job opportunities out of a total of 382,439. In 2019; 625,876 Pakistanis left the country out of whom 15,525 were highly qualified. In 2020, a total of 5121 highly qualified nationals left the country out of a total of 225,213. In 2021; 288,280 Pakistanis went abroad in search of jobs out of whom 7,396 were highly qualified. In 2022, the total number of Pakistanis who left the country in search of work was 832,339. Out of these, 17,976 were highly qualified. However, till June 2023, around 10,845 highly qualified nationals of Pakistan left the country for jobs abroad out of a total of 395166.