Over 1 million Pakistanis went abroad for work in a year, says report

Tariq Butt, Gulf Today correspondent

More than one million Pakistanis left the country for overseas employment during the current fiscal year, according to the Economic Survey 2024-25.

It highlighted the migration trends across the provinces and regions, with Punjab leading the way by a significant margin.

A total of 404,345 individuals from Punjab went abroad for work, making it the largest contributor to the country’s overseas workforce. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) followed with 187,000 workers, while Sindh sent 60,424 individuals overseas for employment.

The report noted that 29,937 people from the tribal areas and 29,591 from Azad Kashmir left the country in search of better job opportunities.

Smaller numbers were recorded in the federal capital, with 8,621 workers, Balochistan with 5,668, and the northern areas contributing 1,692 workers to the global labour market.

The data underscores the critical role of overseas employment in Pakistan’s economy, particularly in terms of remittances, and highlights regional disparities in labour migration patterns.

Meanwhile, the Economic Survey also said that Pakistan’s Information Technology (IT) sector has been declared one of the fastest-growing segments of the national economy.

It showed an impressive 23.7% growth in IT exports, which surged to $2.825 billion during the fiscal year. In March 2025 alone, IT exports reached $342 million, registering a robust month-on-month growth of 12.1%.

The IT services sector also posted the highest trade surplus of $2.4 billion, underscoring its growing role in the national economy.

Freelancers contributed significantly, bringing in $400 million in foreign exchange.

Pakistan’s startup ecosystem is showing signs of maturity, with more than 1,900 startups having completed training at National Incubation Centres.

In a noteworthy development for gender inclusion, over 12,000 women have been economically empowered through various tech and entrepreneurship programmes.

The telecom sector also posted strong performance, with revenues reaching Rs803 billion.

The number of telecom users in the country climbed to 199.9 million, with a density rate of 81.3%. The sector contributed Rs271 billion to the national exchequer during the fiscal year.

To bolster digital growth and cybersecurity, a Pakistan-China IT Working Group has been formed, signalling increasing international cooperation in technology.

The survey said that IT remains a major contributor to Pakistan’s export growth, with rising global demand for Pakistani software products driving momentum in the sector.