14.46 percent spike in Nepali workers heading abroad in six months

Despite the government’s policy of retaining youth within the country, the number of young people going abroad for employment has continued to increase.

A total of 393,067 youths left for foreign employment in the first six months of the current fiscal year alone - up 14.46 percent from 343,405 that left for foreign job destinations in the same period of the previous fiscal year. This number excludes an additional 4,814 that left for Israel and South Korea under government-to-government arrangements during the review period. According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), 225,625 obtained new labor permits, while 162,628 obtained re-entry approval. About 11 percent of these youths, or 7,105, are women.

Data provided by the DoFE shows an average of 360,000 youths have left for foreign job destinations in the first six months of the past fiscal years. This implies that more than 700,000 youths are leaving the country for foreign employment annually.

Data shows 59,575 youths left the country for employment in the first month of the current fiscal year i.e. mid-July to mid-August. Likewise, 57,493 left the country in mid-August to mid-Sept, 53,525 in mid-Sept to mid-Oct, 70,990 in mid-Oct to mid-Nov, 84,226 in mid-Nov to mid-Dec and 67,258 in mid-Dec to mid-Jan. An average of 65,500 youths are leaving the country in search of employment every month.

Surya Bahadur Khatri, the director general of DoFE, said youths are leaving the country primarily due to lack of employment opportunities and the prospect of better earnings in foreign job destinations. “Despite relatively good conditions in Nepal, many are leaving the country in search of even better opportunities,” Khatri said. “Migration is not just happening in Nepal but is a global phenomenon. People from the US are also moving to Japan, Canada and Australia. Similar migration trends can be seen globally.”

Khatri claimed that the workforce going abroad is gradually becoming more skilled compared to earlier. “Those going to good countries are learning languages and some skills. Particularly, they are gaining knowledge in hospitality, cooking, waiting and packing, and receiving training from various training centers,” he added. He claimed that remittances entering the country have increased due to the growth in the skilled workforce. 

UAE Most Preferred Employment Destination

DoFE’s data shows that UAE has remained the most popular destination for Nepali youths. In the month of mid-Dec to mid-Jan, 21,121 youths, including 2,412 women, obtained labor permits for the Gulf country. Saudi Arabia was next, receiving 13,642 Nepali workers, followed by Qatar (11,983), Kuwait (6,050), Malaysia (3,175), Japan (1,946), Romania (1,743) and Croatia (1,134).  According to DoFE, Nepali youths obtained labor permits for 100 countries between mid-Dec and mid-Jan.