Number of migrant worker quadruples in nine months

Kathmandu, May 13

The number of Nepalis going abroad in search of work witnessed a massive surge in the post- pandemic period which is likely to have positive impact on remittance inflows in the coming months.

While the number of Nepali migrant workers going abroad in the nine months (up to mid-April 2020) of the current fiscal year 2021/22 increased by 425.9 per cent on an average, it increased by 614.2 per cent in case of Saudi Arabia, according to the statistics of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE).

About 256,031 Nepalis left the country in search of employment in foreign countries this year in nine months from mid-July to mid-April against 48,687 in the same period last year. Last year the number of Nepalis going abroad for jobs had dropped by 74.9 per cent.

Nepali migrant workers entered the Saudi Arabia in a record number this year. About 108,447 Nepali youth reached the gulf nation in nine months this year against 15,185 in the same period last year. This is 42.4 per cent of the total Nepali migrant workers who left the country for jobs abroad.

Last year, the share of Nepalis going to Saudi Arabia was 31.2 per cent.

Other top destinations of Nepali migrant workers are Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Romania, Oman and Cyprus. Approximately 63,153 Nepalis went to Qatar this year while only 12,206 had reached there last year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a growth of 417.4 per cent.

Likewise, number of Nepalis going to the UAE, Bahrain, Romania, Oman and Cyprus went up by 320 per cent, 190 per cent, 105.5 per cent, 105.8 per cent and 245 per cent respectively.

About 12,002 Nepalis went to Kuwait till mid-April this year while only one had reached there last year. Similarly, South Korea has also taken 2274 workers from Nepal this year. It took only 14 workers last year. The Korean government had said that it would take in a record number of Nepali workers, about 8000, this year.

However, the number of Nepalis going to Jordan and Afghanistan has decreased.

Amidst the decreasing inflow of remittance and increasing imports creating pressure on the foreign currency reserves in th post-pandemic period, the situation is further aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine war, soaring price of oil, steel and other goods in the international market.

Experts said that this tendency of growing migrant workers will have positive impact on the remittance inflow.

While the remittance inflow in the nine-month is Rs. 724.74 billion, it was Rs. 729.02 billion, as per the statistics of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) last year. Nepali workers abroad sent more money to Nepal through formal channel during the pandemic as the actors of Hundi couldn’t perform in the crisis. However, Hundi is reactivated after the dawn of normalcy.

The decreasing size of remittance has been shrunk in the ninth month compared to the eighth month as it came down to the decrease of 0.6 per cent in mid-April from 1.7 per cent in mid-march. It witnessed a growth of 16.5 per cent in the same period last year. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 May 2022.