In the current months, it has decelerated the trend of Pakistani workers leaving the country, as the 663,186 extenders of manpower exported from Pakistan stood at the end of November 2024. The Pakistan Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) shows that the count of Pakistani workers who moved abroad reached an all-time high of 862,625 at the end of 2023, which means that it is 199,439 less than the previous year. With one month still to go before the end of the calendar year, manpower exports are expected to be way below last year’s figure.
However, still, the mile highest destinations for Pakistani workers are Saudi Arabia (408,709) in the number followed by Oman with 72,34,5 and then the UAE with 63,245. Whereas in the last 11 months of 2024, 37,235 and 22,455 were welcomed by Qatar and Bahrain, respectively.
Laborers accounted for the bulk of 329,126, among these; 170,487 were categorized as drivers. Reduced manpower exports resulted from a new visa policy by a friendly country.
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Exportation of labor has been decreasing; tourists have, nonetheless, reported an improvement in remittances sent back to Pakistan, particularly from the GCC. Up until October 2024, remittances sent home through overseas Pakistanis registered a growth rate of 35 percent compared to last year’s corresponding nine weeks, amounting to $11.8 billion from the onset of July through October.
It was the second-largest since 2015 last year in terms of manpower exports, adding that the potential exchange for Pakistan is much greater than what is acknowledged currently.