Saudi Arabia remained the largest overseas employer of Pakistani workers in 2025, hiring 530,256 Pakistanis, nearly 70 percent of all workers who left the country for jobs abroad during the year, according to the latest data from Pakistan’s Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE).
The BEOE reported that 762,499 Pakistanis registered for overseas employment in 2025, continuing the recovery that began after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1971, the total number of registered overseas Pakistani workers has reached 15.13 million.
Saudi Arabia has employed 7.87 million Pakistanis over the past five decades. That accounts for more than 52 percent of all registered overseas workers from Pakistan.
The United Arab Emirates remained the second-largest destination with 52,664 workers in 2025. It was followed by Qatar with 68,376, Bahrain with 37,726, Oman with 9,375, and Kuwait with 6,590.
The latest figures show Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait increased their hiring of Pakistani workers compared with 2024. Oman, however, recorded a significant decline from 81,587 workers in 2024 to 9,375 in 2025.
Overseas employment recovers after pandemic slowdown
Pakistan’s overseas employment dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Worker registrations fell to 225,213 in 2020 before recovering to 288,280 in 2021.
The labor market has strengthened steadily since then.
Pakistan sent 832,339 workers abroad in 2022, followed by 862,625 in 2023, 727,381 in 2024, and 762,499 in 2025, reflecting sustained demand from Gulf countries.
The BEOE data also highlights the composition of Pakistan’s overseas workforce.
In 2024, 366,092 workers belonged to the unskilled category. Another 255,706 were skilled workers, while 56,562 were semi-skilled. Pakistan also sent 29,434 highly skilled professionals and 19,587 highly qualified workers abroad.
Among occupations, laborers formed the largest group with 364,574 workers. Drivers followed with 185,209, while 14,938 masons, 10,895 electricians, 8,018 engineers, and 3,642 doctors also secured overseas jobs.
Officials say demand for Pakistani manpower remains strong because Gulf economies continue investing heavily in construction, infrastructure, healthcare and services.
Gulf countries remain Pakistan’s biggest source of remittances
The Gulf region continues to dominate Pakistan’s overseas employment landscape and remains the country’s largest source of foreign exchange through workers’ remittances.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the country received a record $38.3 billion in workers’ remittances during FY2024-25, compared with $30.25 billion in the previous fiscal year.
Saudi Arabia contributed the largest share at $9.34 billion, while the United Arab Emirates sent $7.83 billion. Together, the two countries accounted for more than $17 billion, nearly half of Pakistan’s total remittance inflows.
Although Pakistanis have migrated to more than 50 countries since 1971, non-Gulf destinations account for less than 5 percent of total overseas employment.
Among those countries, Malaysia leads with 149,601 registered workers, followed by Iraq with 100,348, Libya with 81,818, the United Kingdom with 55,109, Italy with 32,873, Cyprus with 20,949, and South Korea with 20,642.
The latest BEOE figures reaffirm the Gulf’s central role in Pakistan’s labor export strategy and underline the growing importance of overseas workers in supporting the country’s economy through employment opportunities and remittance inflows.
