- The Ipsos Pakistan survey shows youth migration trends.
- The Middle East is at the top of the list of aspirants to emigrate.
- Privileged class most likely to consider emigration.
The majority of young Pakistanis do not want to leave the country permanently. News reported citing an Ipsos Pakistan survey.
The survey, which included more than 1,600 participants aged 18 to 34, was carried out from September 20 to 27, 2024.
Regarding the question, are you planning to leave Pakistan and settle permanently abroad? 74% of young Pakistanis surveyed said they did not think so and wanted to contribute to the country’s development while remaining in Pakistan, while 26% said that if given the chance, they would leave Pakistan.
Among the 26% of Pakistanis who expressed their desire to leave the country, the majority expressed their desire to go to the Middle East; 30% to Saudi Arabia, 20% to Dubai, 9% to UK, 8% to Canada, 8% to America, 5% to Europe, 3% to Australia, 2% to Turkey, 2% to Qatar, 2% to Italy and 1% to Germany.
In the survey, the majority of those who wanted to go abroad belonged to Islamabad and the privileged class, while 46% of the youth included in the survey from Islamabad wanted to go abroad, 35% from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 27% Punjab, 21%. % from Balochistan and 20% from Sindh intended to go abroad.
In terms of social class, 36% of young people interviewed from the upper middle class or the privileged class expressed their intention to go abroad permanently.
28% of the middle classes and 23% of the disadvantaged classes intended to leave Pakistan and settle abroad.