ISLAMABAD          -           According to a report released by Pakistan Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, more than eleven million Pakistanis have left the country for better employment opportunities in the past five decades.The report reveals that 11,052,663 workers registered for overseas employment with the bureau between 1971 and November 2019.

Of the 11m that left Pakistan, 4.2m were laborers, the report said. Behind laborers is the category of 'drivers', which accounts for 1.3m leaving the country since 1971, while the 2019 figure alone stands at 161,226.Of the 11m manpower exports, 4.7m has been categorized as 'skilled' and 4.6m as 'unskilled'. Around 220,000 fall in the category of the 'highly qualified'.

The ratio of manpower exports has once again risen sharply over the past year, with 563,018 Pakistanis leaving Pakistan in that period, according to the statistics.Saudi Arabia has been the most popular destination among Pakistani workers seeking employment opportunities.