February 24: The number of Nepali migrant workers going for foreign employment has declined in the last two months. The number of people leaving Nepal for foreign employment was lowest in the first month of the current fiscal year (mid-July to mid-August) with just 25,400 people leaving the country while it was the highest in the fifth month (mid-November to mid-December) when 74,354 people left the country. But the number has been declining in the last two months, as per the data kept by the Department of Foreign Employment.

According to the department, 66,625 Nepalese got the final labor permit in the month of Poush (mid-December to mid-January) while only 54,470 people got such permit in Magh (mid-January to mid-February). In the last seven months, a total of 349,000 Nepali workers have gone to 84 countries for employment.

District-wise, most of the workers traveled abroad for foreign employment from Dhanusha between mid-January to mid-February. According to the department, not a single person from Manang has gone abroad for foreign employment. Altogether 33,388 people from Dhanusha have left the country while the lowest number of four people leaving the country for foreign employment is from Mustang.

The number of workers going to the Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Dubai, which are considered as the major labor destinations, is declining. Until a few years ago, Malaysia was the first choice of Nepali workers. But recently, the workers have been more attracted to  Saudi Arabia for employment.

Out of 349,000 workers who left the country in the last seven months, more than 122,000 have gone to Saudi Arabia. In the last 12 days alone, 19,831 Nepalis have left for Saudi Arabia.

Similarly, Qatar is the second largest labor destination for Nepali workers followed by the UAE. But the number of workers visiting these countries has declined.

In the last seven months, 115,847 Nepalis left for Qatar for employment. The number of people leaving for Qatar between mid-January to mid-February was 14,751. Similarly, 11,303 Nepali migrant workers went to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between mid-January to mid-February.