ISLAMABAD: More than 1.8 million Pakistanis have left the country over the past three years, with doctors, engineers, IT professionals, teachers and other skilled workers among those seeking employment opportunities abroad, according to figures presented in the National Assembly.
Official documents submitted during Question Hour revealed that 15,850 Pakistanis had travelled abroad in 2026, including 681 highly qualified and skilled individuals, ARY News reported.
The data showed that 28,726 highly educated Pakistanis went abroad for employment in 2025, including 1,510 classified as highly skilled. In 2024, a total of 45,830 highly educated Pakistanis moved overseas for work.
The figures cover a range of professions, highlighting the continued movement of qualified workers to international job markets.
Profession-wise breakdown of overseas Pakistani professionals
According to the official data, the number of professionals going abroad in selected categories during 2024, 2025 and 2026 was as follows:
Profession
2026
Managers
5,190
Engineers
3,605
Accountants
1,771
Doctors
2,093
Teachers
1,457
Nurses
626
Computer programmers
664
System analysts
243
Pharmacists
156
Dental surgeons
45
Pilots
11
Highly skilled Pakistanis
681
Financial analysts
424
The figures indicate that managers and engineers accounted for substantial numbers among the professionals moving abroad, while doctors, accountants, teachers and IT specialists also featured prominently.
The data presented to Parliament highlight the scale of skilled and educated workforce mobility from Pakistan, although the figures for individual professions do not, by themselves, establish how many people permanently settled abroad.
