ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis has revealed that 3.275 million Pakistanis (1.3% of the Pakistani population) have left the country over the past five years.
This disclosure came during a Senate session’s question hour, where the ministry presented a report highlighting the emigration trends.
According to the report, between 2019 and August 2024, a total of 3.275 million Pakistanis have been sent abroad. The ministry explained that Pakistani citizens are sent overseas in response to the demands of host countries.
According to a report published in The Financial Daily, During 2023, approximately 0.9 million Pakistanis left the country only in year 2023, the second highest ever exodus since 1971.
The problem is more severe as they are shifting permanently and don’t want to come back and serve the country. According to research at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, 62% of Pakistani youth wants to leave the country for better salaries and respect.
To understand this in depth we have to look back to 1971, when East Pakistan became an independent country where most of our industries were established. After the partition of Bangladesh, our workers became unemployed and rushed on the road. The prime minister of Pakistan signed some agreements with Middle Eastern countries and we started exporting our human capital.
As per statistics of the Pakistan Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment until November 2023, 805088 of Pakistani labor force left the country which includes 7000+ accountants, 6500+ agriculturists, 3000+ doctors, 17000+ electricians, 8000+ engineers, 1421+ teachers’ 20000+ technicians, and 356714 unskilled labor.
Category wise 21157 highly qualified, 43342 highly skilled, and 295080 of our skilled labor went abroad in 2023 (until November).
In Pakistan, 250+ universities offer 5000+ degree program, and a large number of them doesn’t have demand in the market. This leads to unemployment resulting in a frustrating condition for young person In addition, the insecurity and bad law and order condition in the country encourages people to go abroad for a more stable life.
If we look at the wage gap between immigrants and natives in the host country, they have become significant as a result of migration. Therefore, with the persistence of income inequality between countries, the movement of migrants to climb the economic ladder is increasing. The white color educated youth of our country are more confident to leave the country as they do not feel a secure future.
According to the World Bank in Pakistan, we have 1.12 doctors per 1000 which is lower than who standard ratio of 1:1000. Despite these facts, a large number of doctors left the country, in search of better professional qualifications and access to modern technology. In Pakistan, many graduates complain that despite their high responsibilities and long working hours, their salaries are not enough.
In addition, post-COVID-19, travel restrictions have eased and the demand for human resources has increased worldwide. Thus, a significant number of Pakistani immigrants have been forced to find new jobs in their destinations in Pakistan or elsewhere during the COVID-19 restrictions.
Pakistani youth is also frustrated because of political polarization political divide and current economic crises as well as the want level playing field. They believe that the system does not work for them but for a few elites in the country.
If a person went abroad and earned a handsome amount why we should restrict them to 3-4 lakh instead he can earn 5-6 thousand dollars abroad. But the problem is that if our potential workers settled abroad in such a large amount what will be left over there, keeping in mind that Brain drain would be not bad if we have enough supply at the back end but these numbers are quite large for a country with a literacy rate of 62.3%.
In the short term, our remittances would be increased but in the long run, other countries would benefit from our talent instead of us.
Therefore, we have to work on the political stability of the country and have a charter of the economy and long-term policies to overcome the issue of brain drain. Secondly in the public sector, we have a small number of employment opportunities, our private sector should absorb the educated and semi-skilled youth in the country.
The government also has to play a vital role in focusing on policies to ensure access to job opportunities, provide technical training in the IT sector, come up with adequate research facilities, and provide a safe work environment and professional system to prevail over this matter.
