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More than 45 lakh Nepalis went abroad for foreign employment till 2019 mid-June: Report



Nepali migrant workers, Migration and Development Brief, World Bank

More than five lakh Nepalis go abroad seeking foreign employment every year, according to a report recently released by National Human Rights Commission.

The number of Nepali migrant workers surged from 3,605 to 5,19,638 from the the fiscal year 1993/94 (2050/51 BS) to 2013/14 (2070/71 BS). Till mid-June 2019 (2076 Jestha 30), a total of 45,99,567 Nepalis were allowed work permit for foreign employment, the report states. Of them, 2,18,273 are women workers.

Of the total migrant workers, 96 percent has gone to Gulf Countries (the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait) and Malaysia while remaining 4 percent went to other countries.

According to Foreign Employment Department, till mid-June 2019, 12,67,745 Nepali migrant workers went to Qatar. Of them, 12,48,491 are men and 19,254 are women. Likewise, 13,20,989 (12,90,924 men and 30,065 women) went to Malaysia; 9,22,259 (9,13,938 men and 8,321 women) went to Saudi Arabia; 6,28,921 (5,69,795 men and 59,126 women) went to United Arab Emirates; 1,56,262 (1,13,585 men and 42,677 women) went to Kuwait; 56,111 (51,666 men and 4,445 women) went to Bahrain; 37,706 (31,989 men and 5,717 woment) went to Oman; 62,304 (58,593 men and 3,711 women) went to South Korea; 12,773 (1,231 men and 11,542 women) went to Lebanon; 6,851 (2,323 men and 4,492 women) went to Israel; 13,638 (13,586 men and 52 women) went to Afghanistan; 19,278 (18,272 men and 1,006 women) went to Japan; and 94,766 (66,901 men and 27,865 women) went to other countries.

Likewise, Only 1 percent of the migrant workers are well-qualified, according to the report. 14 percent are qualified, 12 percent are semi-qualified and 74 percent are not qualified.

Similarly, 90 percent of the migrant workers went to work in the foreign countries through man power companies and 10 percent via personal work permit.

Related Coverage:

Over 400 Nepali migrant workers returned home in coffin in 2018/19

Nepali migrant workers sent home 8.1 billion dollars in 2018: World Bank

Nepal government has banned Nepali migrant workers from working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. The government allows work permit to the following countries only:

  1. Albania
  2. Algeria
  3. Argentina
  4. Armenia
  5. Australia
  6. Austria
  7. Azerbaijan
  8. Bahrain
  9. Bangladesh
  10. Belarus
  11. Belgium
  12. Bolivia
  13. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  14. Brazil
  15. Brunei
  16. Bulgaria
  17. Canada
  18. Chile
  19. China
  20. Colombia
  21. Cambodia
  22. Congo
  23. Costa Rica
  24. Croatia
  25. Cuba
  26. Cyprus
  27. Czech Republic
  28. Denmark
  29. Egypt
  30. Estonia
  31. Fiji
  32. Finland
  33. France
  34. Germany
  35. Great Britain
  36. Greece
  37. Guiana
  38. Holy See
  39. Hong Kong
  40. Hungary
  41. Iceland
  42. Indonesia
  43. Iran
  44. Ireland
  45. Israel
  46. Italy
  47. Japan
  48. Jordan
  49. Kazakhstan
  50. Kenya
  51. Kosovo
  52. Kuwait
  53. Laos PDR
  54. Latvia
  55. Lebanon
  56. Luxemburg
  57. Macau
  58. Malaysia
  59. Maldives
  60. Malta
  61. Macedonia
  62. Mexico
  63. Moldova
  64. Mongolia
  65. Mauritius
  66. Morocco
  67. Mozambique
  68. Myanmar
  69. Netherlands
  70. New Zealand
  71. Nicaragua
  72. Nigeria
  73. Norway
  74. Oman
  75. Pakistan
  76. Panama
  77. Peru
  78. Poland
  79. Portugal
  80. Qatar
  81. Republic of Korea
  82. Republic of Slovak
  83. Rumania
  84. Russia
  85. Saipan
  86. Saudi Arabia
  87. Singapore
  88. Slovenia
  89. South Africa
  90. Spain
  91. Sri Lanka
  92. Sweden
  93. Switzerland
  94. Seychelles
  95. Tanzania
  96. Thailand
  97. The Philippines
  98. Tunisia
  99. Turkey
  100. Uganda
  101. Ukraine
  102. United Arab Emirates
  103. United States (America)
  104. Uzbekistan
  105. Venezuela
  106. Vietnam
  107. Zambia

Nepali workers does not need work permit to work in India.

Moreover, According to Migration and Development Brief by World Bank released on April this year, Nepal is the 19th largest receiver of remittance around the world and fourth largest in South Asia—with Nepali migrant workers sending home $8.1 billion.Nepal is also among the top five recipient smaller economies along with Tonga, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Haiti.

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