Pakistan Manpower Exports Surge for KSA, Qatar But Decline for UAE, Oman in 2025

Pakistan’s exports of immigrant workers witnessed an interesting trend in 2025. The two leading Gulf countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, saw consistent growth. At the same time, the other two prominent destinations for manpower exports, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, recorded a decline. According to data released by the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE), Pakistan’s manpower exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia surged to 242,337 during the first six months of the current year (January to July), showing an average monthly manpower export of 40,389 in 2025, compared to an average of 37,713 in 2024 (totaling 452,562 for the entire year). In Qatar, the average number of emigrant workers moving for employment increased to 4,408 per month in 2025, totaling 26,448 in six months. This marks a significant rise compared to the previous year, when an average of 3,401 Pakistanis moved to Qatar each month, totaling 40,818 workers in 2023. The high demand for human resources in these host countries is attributed to mega economic expansion projects. Experts believe that the demand for manpower in the GCC region will remain high until 2030. However, skilled employment, visa policies, and state-level partnerships with these countries could further boost manpower exports and remittances in the coming years, particularly in the UAE and Oman. Surprisingly, the number of Pakistanis moving to the other two major destinations in the Gulf region, the UAE and Oman, recorded a significant drop in 2025. This decline is attributed to revised visa policies, changes in labor laws, and workforce saturation. According to the data, 13,865 Pakistanis moved to the UAE in the first six months of 2025, averaging 2,310 per month. In contrast, 64,130 Pakistanis settled in the UAE in 2024, with an average monthly manpower export of 5,344. Similarly, Pakistan’s manpower exports to Oman averaged 1,411 per month in 2025, totaling 8,467 by the end of the first half of the year. In 2024, manpower exports to Oman stood at 81,587, with an average of 6,798 per month. The trend of emigrant workers settling in the UK and USA also showed some variation. Manpower exports to the UK decreased to 2,595 during the first six months of 2025 (an average of 432 per month), compared to 13,695 emigrants in 2024 (an average of 1,141 per month). In contrast, manpower exports to the USA increased to 584 in the first six months of 2025 (an average of 97 per month), compared to 1,077 recorded in 2024 (an average of 89 per month). Overall, Pakistan’s manpower exports stood at 336,442 during the first six months of 2025 (an average of 56,073 per month). In 2024, manpower exports totaled 727,381 (an average of 60,615 per month). While manpower exports witnessed a declining trend in 2025 compared to the previous year, the numbers may increase in the second half of 2025 with improving policies in GCC host countries, particularly the UAE. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), out of the $38.3 billion in remittances received from overseas Pakistani workers, nearly $30.5 billion came from the aforementioned countries, including the Gulf states, the USA, and the UK.