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Nepal’s labor-migration story is often told as a success measured in remittance receipts. That account is only half true. Money earned abroad has lifted household consumption, financed education and health care, supported the balance of payments and helped the country withstand repeated economic shocks. Yet the same system exports a large share of Nepal’s most productive population because the domestic economy cannot offer enough decent work. Remittance is relief; dependence on migration is a warning.

The latest figures make this contradiction impossible to ignore. According to the Department of Foreign Employment, 792,187 labor approvals were issued in fiscal year 2025/26. This was 47,079 fewer than the record 839,266 approvals in 2024/25, a decline of about 5.6 percent. Even after the fall, the total remained close to 800,000 for a third consecutive year. Labor approvals include new permits and renewals, so they should not be read as an equal number of first-time departures. Nevertheless, their scale shows how firmly overseas work is embedded in Nepal’s economy and in the expectations of its young people.

Destinations are changing, dependence is not

The United Arab Emirates remained the leading destination in 2025/26, with 183,580 approvals. Malaysia followed with 132,646, Qatar with 132,051 and Saudi Arabia with 124,583. Kuwait, with 43,360 approvals, was the next major destination. These five countries together accounted for roughly four out of every five approvals. The ranking also reveals a renewed rise in Malaysia, while the UAE retained its dominant position and the Gulf continued to absorb most Nepali workers.

At the same time, the migration map is gradually widening. Romania, Croatia, Japan and the Republic of Korea have become more visible destinations, and interest in care work, hospitality, manufacturing and skilled occupations is increasing. Diversification is welcome because it can reduce exposure to a single market. But a longer list of destinations is not, by itself, a development strategy. If most workers still enter low-paid, physically demanding and weakly protected jobs, Nepal merely spreads the same vulnerability across more countries.

The trend also reflects changing aspirations. Young Nepalis are not leaving only because they are unemployed. Many leave because wages are low, work is insecure, skills are poorly rewarded and public services remain uneven. Migration has become a household investment and, increasingly, a social norm. Families borrow for recruitment costs, communities celebrate departure and returnees often feel compelled to migrate again when savings run out.

The remittance cushion

The economic gains are substantial. Nepal Rastra Bank reports remittance inflows of about Rs 2.363trn in 2025/26, equivalent to 35.8 per cent of gross domestic product. These inflows strengthen foreign-exchange reserves, finance imports and protect households from poverty. In villages and towns, remittance pays school fees, medical bills, rent, food and loan instalments. For many families, it is the most reliable form of social protection available.

But the cushion can conceal structural weakness. Remittance-supported consumption generates revenue and demand, yet too little of that money is channeled into productive enterprises that can create jobs at home. High imports absorb much of the spending. Meanwhile, agriculture, construction, tourism and small industry frequently report labor shortages or a mismatch between available jobs and workers' expectations. The economy benefits from the income of migrants while failing to use their absence as an urgent signal for reform.

The costs behind the numbers

The first cost is demographic. The prolonged departure of working-age people leaves farms unattended, reduces local enterprise and places a heavier burden on women, older people and children. Migration can empower spouses who manage household finances, but it can also produce care deficits, marital strain and prolonged separation. Children may gain better schooling while losing daily parental presence. These consequences cannot be captured in a balance-of-payments statement.

The second cost is borne by workers themselves. Recruitment fraud, excessive fees, contract substitution, wage theft, unsafe workplaces and confiscation of passports remain persistent concerns. Deaths and serious injuries abroad continue to expose gaps in prevention, occupational safety, insurance, compensation and consular response. Women workers, especially those entering domestic and care work through informal channels, face particular risks. Restrictions adopted in the name of protection can drive migration underground unless safe, regular pathways are available.

The third cost appears on return. Many returnees bring experience, discipline, technical skills and savings, but find few mechanisms to convert them into stable employment or viable enterprises. Credit is difficult to obtain, foreign-acquired skills are not consistently recognised, and support programmes are fragmented. When reintegration fails, remigration becomes the rational choice. Nepal then repeats an expensive cycle: train, export, remit, return and leave again.

From managing departure to building choice

Nepal should not treat migration as a failure, nor should it romanticize staying home. People have the right to move, earn and build international experience. The policy objective must be to make migration safer and more rewarding while ensuring that leaving is a choice rather than an economic necessity.

That requires action on four fronts. First, the government must enforce transparent recruitment, reduce worker-paid costs, strengthen pre-departure information and use digital systems to track contracts, complaints and employer records. Bilateral labor agreements should contain enforceable provisions on wages, working hours, occupational safety, dispute settlement, insurance and repatriation, backed by adequately staffed missions in major destinations.

Second, Nepal must negotiate for better jobs, not merely more vacancies. Training should be linked to verified overseas and domestic demand, with recognised certification in construction trades, health care, hospitality, manufacturing, information technology and green occupations. Destination diversification should be judged by wages, rights, skills and portability of social protection, not by the number of countries opened.

Third, reintegration should begin before a worker returns. Migrants need financial advice, skills documentation, accessible credit and credible links to provincial and local employment services. Municipalities can maintain returnee skill registers and connect workers to cooperatives, firms and public projects. Incentives should reward viable production and employment rather than encourage businesses created only to qualify for subsidies.

Finally, Nepal needs a domestic jobs compact. Reliable electricity and transport, predictable regulation, investment in agro-processing and tourism, support for small and medium enterprises and closer links between education and employers are essential. Migration policy cannot compensate for weak industrial, agricultural and employment policy.

A better measure of success

The decline in labor approvals in 2025/26 may prove temporary. It should neither be celebrated as a reversal nor feared simply because remittance might weaken. The more important question is what kind of economy Nepal is building while its citizens work abroad.

Success should not be measured only by the value of remittances or the speed of issuing permits. It should be measured by lower recruitment costs, fewer deaths and grievances, higher-skilled placements, greater savings and investment, successful returnee enterprises and a growing number of decent jobs at home. Nepal will continue to benefit from labor mobility. But its long-term prosperity will depend on transforming migration from a structural compulsion into a safe, dignified and genuinely voluntary opportunity.

Nepal has envisioned Digital Nepal. This dream is to ensure good governance by developing knowledge, skills and capabilities related to information technology through electronic service delivery to the Nepalese citizens in line with the global advancements. Digital Nepal constitutes the three national goals: One, accessible modern infrastructure and intensive connectivity. Two, high and sustainable production and productivity. Three, good governance. The core objective is to ensure a multi-dimensional transformation of the economy. The expected outcome will be easy and simple public service delivery through maximum use of digital technology.

In this direction, Nepal has fulfilled the major activities such as building nationwide optical fibre network under information highway, connecting, and operating the main equipment of 4G LTE, bringing mobile device management system and national e-payment gateway into operation, and now exploring the feasibility of use of digital signature in government service delivery and rendering public services electronically. The twin challenges ahead are to launch and operate the Sagarmatha Satellite and to launch the 5G mobile network. The ever-widening digital divide has posed another challenge. The ICT advancements dwell on the digital infrastructure and technology which further need expansion and development in a federal governance system.

The fourteenth plan of Nepal did more than expected: The target was to reach 65 percent of the Nepali population with access to internet service but it achieved 65.9 percent. The fifteenth plan has a periodic target to access 80 percent of the Nepalis with internet by the end of fiscal year 2023-2024 and a long term vision to broaden the access of internet to every Nepali citizen by FY 2043-2044.

The Covid-19 had adverse impacts on Nepal’s economy but on the contrary, it opened the doors to virtual communication and made an urgent call for digital services in the virtual world. For now, the expansion and management of information technology infrastructure remains challenging. Nepal needs to develop innovation, talent, skills, and entrepreneurship through a multilateral partnership by maintaining the interconnectivity between the various information systems of the government in service delivery through digital infrastructure development.

Many developing countries are reeling under extreme poverty and the lives of people have not improved significantly over the years. Among many reasons, one substantial reason is widespread corruption. The nations are in the clutches of corruption and that ultimately leads to the vicious circle of poverty. The traditional style of governance, manual systems, unethical behaviors of public servants, bribery, embezzlement, government procurement systems, bureaucratic delays, and red tape have contributed to corruption reaching the peak. South Asia is marred by the cancer of corruption. In particular, Nepal is one of the notorious countries in the world list of corruption. 

Under such circumstances, e-government or e-governance or the Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play a big role in ensuring good governance in general and transparency in particular. E-Government is an innovative approach that many world governments are increasingly adopting in order to work more effectively, share information and deliver better services to the public. e-government is essentially more about the process of government reform and resulting benefits than about the application of specific technological solutions or services. Many scholars have agreed with this definition: E-government means the use of technology to enhance access to and delivery of government services in order to benefit citizens, business partners, and employees.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have emerged as innovative approaches with mammoth potential to make people’s lives better at large and, particularly, the people in the margin and the people in developing countries. Use of ICTs can enhance business, support education and healthcare systems and also improve the governance and government system both at local and national level in the development endeavor. Today we cannot imagine a world without a computer or a smartphone or the Internet. ICTs have an impact and presence in cars, phones, aircrafts, banks, schools, etc. The innovative domain called Internet of Things (IoT) is on the go and on the rise. Technology-mediated applications are increasingly gaining popularity and have become a part and parcel of our daily lives.

ICTs contribute to the overall development in multiple ways: e-Government for anti-corruption, attainment of Sustainable Development Goals, citizens’ trust, fast public service delivery and so on.

E-government and transparency has a very intimate nexus and are complementary to one another. Transparency is the soul of good governance. It refers to the state of openness, accountability and visibility. Its domain has stretched its arms with the wave of right to information. Clearly the prominence of transparency as an administrative norm is very critical. Democratic, accountable and legitimate government depends largely on how transparent the government is. Transparency is best ensured by the tools of ICTs.

A good e-government strategy can contribute to building a more efficient, accountable and transparent government. If inclusive in nature, e-government applications can rebuild citizen trust in government, promote economic growth by improving interface with business, and empower citizens to participate in the broader advancement of good governance. While e-government is not a panacea for the complex and deep-rooted problems of corruption, it cannot be ignored that ICTs possess the ability to contribute effectively towards any anti-corruption efforts. E-government’s potential to increase transparency and combat corruption in government administration is gaining popularity in communities of e-government practitioners and researchers.

It is noteworthy of the immense role of ICTs and the world governments need to make use of the full potential of ICTs for the timely achievement of the SDGs. In fact, ICTs have enormous potential to deliver dramatic results in education, health and socio-economic growth.  It is critically important to reach a consensus on the need for a new set of connectivity targets to help governments more effectively harness broadband networks and services to drive progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

In Nepal’s context, the rapid advancement pace in ICT development and promotion is doing good compared to other sectors but needs to be done better. One major bottleneck is lack of strong political commitment for the full utilization of ICTs and its implementation. Where is the ICT agenda which is the mother of all agendas? The political leadership does not seem vehemently carrying the agenda of ICTs as a driver of socio-economic transformation of Nepal. Our leaders must realize the growing importance of ICTs or the Internet or social media or the e-world. People today actively participate in the interactions in the digital world.  

Of course the sectors like agriculture, hydropower and tourism are the potential sectors of Nepal with high feasibility of growth and a ray of hope. But one thing cannot be ignored that the ICTs have gone beyond the borders. Its impact is massive. Its impact is rapid. Its impact is multifaceted. It is redrawing the boundaries and redefining the way the services are offered to the public whether by a private company or by a public enterprise or organization or entity or as a whole the government.

As we are discussing the ICTs, e-government and how they play a significant role in combating corruption, Korea can be considered as a good benchmark in examining how governmental transparency can be enhanced in the context of the developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Nepal. Since the democratic transition in 1987 in South Korea, it can be experienced that governmental transparency has rapidly and significantly been improved in Korea. A number of legal approaches contributed to improving good governance including the Official Information Disclosure Act, a Korean version of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, contributed significantly toward enhanced transparency. Similarly, various e-government systems and government initiatives for the digitalization of government have been devised to increase not only efficiency but also transparency in government. 

Moreover, active civic engagement based on democratization has functioned as a political driver to overcome obstacles preventing improved governmental transparency while also working to speed up the enactment of laws and regulations related to governmental transparency. Can Nepal learn lessons and policy implications from Korea in the economic development through ICTs?

Of course, yes. Nepal can do a big deal in ICT development and promotion. However, there are, relatively, a few instances of digitalization initiatives of the Government of Nepal. A number of legal instruments including Telecom Policy, 2004, IT Policy 2010, Broadband Policy 2010, ICT Policy 2015 have been formulated in the direction of e-Government. The ICT Policy 2015 envisages the role of ICTs: “ICTs hold the potential to enhance better governance, with more transparent and efficient civil service. ICT is to play important roles for economic development and poverty alleviation efforts which are the primary goals of SDGs.”

It is undeniable that e-Government is crucial for good governance on the whole and for combating corruption specifically. There is a room with high feasibility for Nepal to replicate Korea’s ICT legislation and implementation measures in the efforts of ensuring good governance and economic development through ICTs as an important driver of growth and development.

It is high time the political leadership realized the enormous potentials of ICTs in the overall development and the Nepali bureaucracy translated these potentials into action to regain the public trust at a time Nepali bureaucracy is unpopular, corrupt and sluggish in the eyes of the public. It is a good opportunity for both the policy makers and the administrators to dream and materialize—Digital Nepal. 

The author is a postgraduate from Kyung Hee University, South Korea and currently working at Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security