Middle East tensions: Expat labour saw 41% decline in 2017

‘Political instability in the region due to Syria and Yemen wars is another reason for decline in workforce export’

ISLAMABAD: The number of Pakistani migrant workers abroad has decreased by 41 per cent in 2017 in comparison with the figures a year earlier, revealed the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2017-18.

In 2017, 496,286 Pakistani workers in the highly-qualified, highly-skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled categories, while in 2016 it had exported a total workforce of 839,353 persons.

Pakistani manpower exports peaked in 2015 when a total of 946,571 workers were registered for working abroad. However, there has been a sharp decline since then.

In 2013, Pakistan exported a total of 622,714 workers, which went up to 752,466 in 2014. The decline in export of workforce in 2017 in comparison with 2016 was registered in all five categories.

In 2017, a total of 16,029 ‘highly qualified workforce’ were exported, while in 2016, a total of 16,510 were exported, stated the survey.



A total of 9,886 highly-skilled workers secured jobs abroad in 2017, while 8,172 of workers in this category had secured overseas jobs in 2016. Only 85,686 skilled workers got jobs abroad in 2017, while 335,671 workers got jobs in this category in 2016.

Similarly, 85,686 individuals in the semi-skilled category were exported in 2017, while 152,235 skilled workers had overseas employment in 2016. With regard to unskilled workers, Pakistan exported a total of 195,940 workers in 2017 and 326,765 in 2016.

The economic survey also stated a few reasons behind the decline in manpower export which included the ‘Gulfisation Policy’ adopted by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to transform their economy from oil-based to services-based.

It stated that more than 70 percent of the workforce is employed in the government sector and due to the economic crisis they underwent due to falling oil prices, Saudi Arabia slashed its transport and infrastructure budgets, which affected low skilled workers the most.

It also cited ‘Saudisation’ as another reason behind the decline in manpower export from Pakistan. According to the report, Saudi companies and enterprises are required to hire Saudi nationals up to certain level. The KSA government has also imposed a five per cent Value Added Tax across the kingdom, due to which cost-of-living has gotten more increased.

Political instability in the region due to Syria and Yemen wars was stated by the survey as another reason behind the decline.

In 2017, The United Arab Emirates was the most popular destination for Pakistani workers as 275,000 workers are based there, UAE followed by KSA with 143,000. Oman is the third largest where 42,362 Pakistanis went for better job opportunities.

The comparison among the provinces shows that the manpower export is highest from Punjab. During 2017, the highest number of workers --261,849 -- went abroad from Punjab, followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with 107,366.

A total workforce of 53,590 from Sindh went abroad, while only 4,528 workers from Balochistan found overseas work.

Moreover, a total of 33,318 workers from Azad Kashmir, 3,417 from Gilgit-Baltistan, 27,583 from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and 4,635 workers from Islamabad Capital Territory secured jobs abroad in 2017.