Low wages, limited equipment and high costs of private education lead Pakistanis abroad, with 2,894,645 people leaving the country in the past three years until September 15, according to the protectorate of emigrants. Emigrants paid 2.66 billion rupees in protectorate costs.
Emigrants include professionals such as doctors, engineers, computer specialists, teachers, bankers, accountants, listeners, designers and architects, as well as qualified workers such as plumbers, drivers and welders. Women form an important part of those who leave.
Read: The Pakistanis are at the top of the list of asylum seekers in the United Kingdom in 2024
Data from the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment show that Punjab has the greatest number of emigrants from 1981 to August 2025 to 7,2452, followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) (3,575 954), Sindh (1,281.495) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) (83.526).
The northern regions and Balutchistan had the lowest number at 30,776 and 813,526, respectively.
The total number of emigrants since 1981 reached 13,885,816.
A report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and the International Organization for Migration (OIM) indicates that 40% of Pakistanis express the desire to leave the country.
The illegal migration to Europe jumped 280% in the first ten months of 2022, with nearly 8,800 Pakistanis illegally entering Europe by the end of 2023, often traveling via Dubai, Egypt and Libya.
The emigration interest is the highest in Balutchistan, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan and is more pronounced in cities than rural areas.
Find out more: Almost 40% of Pakistanis want to leave the country
Economic challenges, political instability, unemployment, high inflation, limited educational opportunities and terrorism are cited as main engines. Experts warn against a growing trend in risky migration in the past two years.
