Where Pakistan's overseas workforce goes, what they do, and where they come from — a data-driven analysis by Crown Enterprises Overseas Employment, based on official Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE) statistics, 1971 to May 2026.
The Gulf leads by far: Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone have taken more than 12.3 million of all overseas placements. The ten largest destinations are:
| Country | Workers (1971–2026) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 7,845,120 | 52.0% |
| United Arab Emirates | 4,483,144 | 29.7% |
| Oman | 1,078,068 | 7.1% |
| Qatar | 485,074 | 3.2% |
| Bahrain | 295,937 | 2.0% |
| Kuwait | 198,906 | 1.3% |
| Malaysia | 149,009 | 1.0% |
| Iraq | 100,069 | 0.7% |
| Libya | 81,803 | 0.5% |
| United Kingdom | 54,872 | 0.4% |
Most of Pakistan's overseas workforce works in the trades: skilled and unskilled roles together make up more than 85% of placements.
| Skill Level | Workers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled | 6,178,655 | 41.0% |
| Un-Skilled | 6,676,854 | 44.3% |
| Semi-Skilled | 1,363,585 | 9.0% |
| Highly Skilled | 545,109 | 3.6% |
| Highly Qualified | 318,002 | 2.1% |
By occupation, the picture is clear: construction and transport trades are well ahead of the rest.
| Occupation | Workers (1971–2026) |
|---|---|
| Labourer | 6,219,607 |
| Driver | 2,312,454 |
| Mason | 874,689 |
| Carpenter | 568,204 |
| Technician | 548,350 |
| Electrician | 459,408 |
| Steel Fixer | 371,436 |
| Agriculturist | 362,362 |
| Mechanic | 314,032 |
| Salesman | 252,926 |
| Painter | 250,372 |
| Tailor | 248,397 |
| Plumber | 232,200 |
| Operator | 225,748 |
| Welder | 182,706 |
| Province | Share of Workers |
|---|---|
| Punjab | 52.3% |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 26.3% |
| Sindh | 9.0% |
| Azad Kashmir | 5.5% |
| Tribal Areas | 4.8% |
| Balochistan | 1.0% |
| Federal (ICT) | 0.8% |
| Gilgit-Baltistan | 0.2% |
| District | Workers |
|---|---|
| Sialkot | 642,081 |
| Karachi (Central) | 573,090 |
| Pakistan | 533,870 |
| Rawalpindi | 517,860 |
| Gujranwala | 514,820 |
| Lower Dir | 488,863 |
| Swat | 479,087 |
| Gujrat | 442,522 |
| Faisalabad | 434,037 |
| Dera Ghazi Khan | 398,113 |
After the COVID-19 slump in 2020, deployment recovered quickly, with more than 720,000 workers leaving in each year from 2022 to 2025.
| Year | Workers Registered |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 625,203 |
| 2020 | 224,705 (COVID-19) |
| 2021 | 286,648 |
| 2022 | 829,549 |
| 2023 | 859,846 |
| 2024 | 725,672 |
| 2025 | 762,499 |
| 2026 (to May) | 278,438 |
The numbers confirm what we see daily at Crown Enterprises Overseas Employment: Pakistan is one of the world's largest, most reliable sources of trade labour, with deep pools in construction (masons, steel fixers, carpenters), transport (drivers), and technical trades (electricians, welders, technicians). Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa supply the majority of this workforce, and demand has fully recovered to pre-pandemic highs. For employers in the Gulf and Europe, this means a large, available, trade-tested talent pool — provided you work through a licensed promoter. See how we deploy this workforce.
All figures are sourced from the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE), Government of Pakistan — statements showing the number of Pakistanis registered for employment abroad, covering 1971 to May 2026 (province, district and protectorate breakdowns cover 1981–2026). Figures represent workers registered/processed for overseas employment and include placements through BE&OE and the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC). These are national statistics for the whole of Pakistan, compiled and analysed here by Crown Enterprises Overseas Employment; they are not company-specific deployment figures.