KARACHI: Pakistan has seen a massive increase of 119 percent in brain drain in 2023, which has opened up the fortress of claims by the rulers to make the future of the nation bright and golden.
In the Economic Survey 2023-24, the government reported that 45,687 highly skilled people left the country for employment in 2023 as against 20,865 in 2022. An increase has been observed.
In 2023, 489,301 laborers migrated from Punjab, 210,150 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 72,382 from Sindh and 36,609 from tribal areas.
Experts say the brain drain has increased due to the economic crisis that started in late 2021, with around 50 percent of industrial units partially or completely closed, leading to a lack of jobs in the country.
In the economic survey, it is also said that Pakistani workers are playing an important role in the economic scenario of the country by sending remittances. Percentage of Pakistanis are getting employment facilities in Gulf countries.
During the year 2023, the Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment and the Overseas Employment Corporation have registered 862,625 workers willing to go abroad, which is 4 percent more than last year.
According to the latest Labor Force Survey 2020-21, the total labor force is 71.76 million, of which 67.25 million are employed, while 4.51 million are facing unemployment, thus the unemployment rate in the country is 6.3 percent, the highest unemployment rate at 11.1 percent. 15 to 24-year-olds are most likely to be unemployed, with the unemployment rate among 25-34-year-olds at 7.3 percent.