Where Pakistan's overseas workforce goes, what they do, and where they come from — a data-driven analysis by Renaissance Recruitment Inc., based on official Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE) statistics, 1971 to May 2026.
The Gulf dominates: Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone account for over 12.3 million of all overseas placements. The top ten destinations:
| 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% |
Pakistan's overseas workforce is overwhelmingly trade labour — skilled and unskilled roles together make up over 85% of all 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 category, the demand is clear — construction and transport trades lead by a wide margin:
| 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 |
| Lahore | 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 collapse in 2020, deployment rebounded sharply — 2022–2025 each exceeded 720,000 workers a year.
| 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 Renaissance Recruitment Inc.: 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 Renaissance Recruitment Inc.; they are not company-specific deployment figures.
Share your details and we'll continue the conversation on WhatsApp.