• Ipsos Pakistan survey shows youth migration trends.
• Middle East tops list for aspiring emigrants.
• Privileged class most likely to consider emigration.

Majority of Pakistani youth are unwilling to leave the country permanently, The News reported citing an Ipsos Pakistan survey. 

The survey, which included over 1,600 participants aged 18 to 34, was carried out from September 20 to 27, 2024.

On the question, do you think of leaving Pakistan and moving abroad permanently? 74% of the Pakistani youths in the survey said that they do not think so and want to contribute to the country’s development while staying in Pakistan, while 26% said that if they get a chance, they would move out of Pakistan. 

Among the 26% of Pakistanis who expressed their willingness to leave the country, the majority expressed their desire to go to the Middle East; 30% to Saudi Arabia, 20% to Dubai, 9% to the United Kingdom, 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 young people included in the survey from Islamabad wanted go abroad, 35% from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 27% from Punjab, 21% from Balochistan, and 20% from Sindh intended to go abroad. 

In terms of class, 36% of the young people included in the survey from the upper middle class or the privileged class expressed their intention to go abroad permanently. 

28% from the middle class and 23% from the unprivileged class had the intention to leave Pakistan and settle abroad.