Over 741,000 Nepalis left for foreign employment in FY 2023/24

KATHMANDU, Aug 2: Over 741,000 Nepalis departed for foreign employment from Nepal in the last fiscal year 2023/24. According to the data released by the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), a total of 741,297 Nepali workers left the country for work abroad in the last Fiscal Year (FY).

According to DoFE, these workers included 661,000 men and 80,172 women from all 77 districts. As many as 363,000 of these workers have gone abroad via the different manpower companies. 

During this period, a total of 95,000 individuals went abroad through new individual labor permits, 208,100 through new labor permits, and 11,000 through Government-to-Government (G2G) agreements. Among the Nepalis who went abroad during this period, 460,000 were new workers.

According to the DoFE, the number of people who go abroad for foreign employment is higher in the districts of Madhesh Province. The latest data shows that a significant number of people left for foreign employment from some districts of Madhesh Province. According to the data, the highest number of Nepalis to go abroad was from Dhanusha district - 20,193 people. 

Similarly, Jhapa is another district with a high number of people going abroad for foreign employment. During the past year, a total of 19,960 people from Jhapa migrated for work. 

These migrations included 18,200 people from Morang, 13,388 from Sarlahi, 16,829 from Siraha, 13,705 from Sunsari and 13,353 from Rupandehi. Similarly, 12,000 Nepalis migrated from Saptari, 14,000 from Mahottari, and 10,000 from Dang and Chitwan. The data also indicates that less than 10,000 people  migrated from other districts.

Among the manpower companies that sent workers abroad last year, NeelKamal Human Resource Pvt Ltd sent the highest number of workers. According to the DoFE, the company has sent 7,208 workers abroad to various countries throughout the last year. Similarly, the SOS Manpower Pvt Ltd achieved the second position, sending 5,746 workers abroad during the same period.

Likewise, various manpower companies sent workers abroad such as Air Kings Placement Pvt Ltd sent 4,014 workers, Paradise Women Resource sent 3,985, Soundlines Recruitment Pvt Ltd sent 3,832, and the River Overseas sent 3,734 workers abroad. During the same period, Support Human Resource Pvt Ltd sent 3,509 workers, Advance Management Consultants Pvt Ltd sent 2,986 workers, and Aakarshan International Pvt. Ltd sent 2,706 workers abroad for overseas employment.

The DoFE said that the highest number of workers were skilled professions among the workers who go for foreign employment from Nepal. According to the DoFE, over 532,000 workers who went abroad last year were skilled workers.

Furthermore, a total number of 145,500 unskilled workers departed for abroad as reported by the DoFE. According to the DoFE, during this period, 732 highly skilled workers, 2,772 professional workers, and 60,000 semi-skilled workers went abroad.