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Around 75 per cent of Nepali migrant workers are employed in Middle Eastern countries, primarily in construction, with nearly 1,500 youths leaving Nepal each day in search of jobs abroad.
Nepal’s youth unemployment rate stands at 20.6 per cent in a country of 30 million people. (Photo: Reuters)
Kathmandu,UPDATED: Apr 21, 2026 14:49 IST
Nepal has resumed issuing permits for its nationals to work in the Middle East, an official said on Tuesday, six weeks after suspending the procedure because of conflict in the region.
About 75 per cent of all Nepali workers abroad work in Middle East nations, mainly as labourers at building sites, and experts say remittances from workers make up more than a quarter of the USD 42-billion economy of the cash-strapped Himalayan nation.
Permit resumption "follows advice from the foreign ministry and high demand from workers", Pitambar Ghimire, a labour ministry spokesperson, told Reuters.
Nepal requires citizens to secure a work permit from the government in order to take up jobs in a foreign country, but suspended their issue for Gulf countries on March 1, a day after the US-Israeli war on Iran began.
Nepal's youth unemployment stands at 20.6 per cent among a population of 30 million, the highest such figure among all South and Southeast Asian countries, World Bank data shows.
At least 3 million nationals work overseas, industry officials say. Labour unions estimate that about 1,500 young people leave Nepal each day for foreign employment, driven by scarce job opportunities at home.
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Published On:
Apr 21, 2026 14:49 IST
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