The trend of Pakistanis seeking employment, immigration abroad is not new, however, the phenomenon has witnessed an upward trend in recent years with over 25,000 countrymen applying for asylum in Europe in last one year.
The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) statistics show that 28,000 Pakistani nationals applied for international protection in the EU+ between October 2023 and October 2024.
The data further reveals that asylum applications peaked in October 2023 with the number reaching around 3,400 — the figures since then have reflected a downward trajectory to stand at 1,900 applications in October 2024.
With regards to the country preference by Pakistanis, Italy has emerged as the most favoured choice for Pakistani asylum seekers followed by France, Greece and Germany.
During the aforementioned period, the EU+ countries issued roughly 20,000 decisions at first instance on Pakistani applications — of which merely 12% were granted refugee status or subsidiary protection.
By the end of October this year, the number of applications pending at first instance stood at nearly 34,000.
The EU’s statistics are to be taken separately as illegal human smuggling channels are also used by Pakistanis to get their foot in Europe.
A stark example of this is last week’s Greek boat tragedy when three boats, carrying people from various countries including Pakistan, capsized near Greece killing at least 40 Pakistanis.
As per a report by Pakistan’s Embassy in Greece, the bodies of 35 people remain missing, with little to no hope of survival, while five bodies have been retrieved.
The incident is a grim reminder of last year’s shipwreck near Italy when at least 59 migrants, including 28 Pakistanis, died after their overloaded boat sank in stormy seas off Italy’s southern Calabria region.
Growing trend
However, it seems that the obvious risks do not deter those seeking a better life abroad as statistics with Geo News reveal that as many as 13,500 people were caught in the first 11 months of 2024 while attempting to reach Iran illegally via Balochistan’s Chaghi.
Meanwhile, the accumulated number stands at a whopping 90,000 in the past five years.
As per official statistics of the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, nearly 10 million people have emigrated from Pakistan in the past 17 years.
The emigration of highly skilled individuals has risen to 5%, compared to the previous rate of 2% since 2022, The News reported in August this year.
In the last two years, the majority of those leaving the country have been blue-collar workers and labour class. Specifically, 37% were skilled workers (down from 44% during the Imran Khan government) and 46% were unskilled labourers — up from 41% during the same Khan era.
The highest emigration occurred during the PML-N government (2013-2018), with a total of 3.53 million people leaving the country.
However, by 2018, during the Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, this number sharply declined by 60%, with only around 300,000 people emigrating for jobs abroad.
Last year, the country witnessed the highest outflow of people making it one of the top 10 nations regarding emigration, revealed the data from the United Nations, the publication reported in November.
Poverty, unemployment
Furthermore, the EUAA, in its “Country of Origin Information Report” for Pakistan, has underscored various socio-economic factors such as unemployment, poverty, political instability etc.
Underscoring the country’s existing external debt and liabilities which amounted to 34.3% of the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP), the report blames factors such as political instability and mismanagement for being partially responsible for the “debt trap”.
Citing the World Food Programme’s (WFP) July report, it pointed towards issues such as “economic fragility, political polarisation, recurrent natural disasters, and high inflation” for an increase in poverty levels.
Furthermore, the EU agency’s report also highlighted that as per the World Bank Group, 40% of the population lived below the poverty line as of April 2024.
