Nepali Foreign Travel Nearly Triples in Five Years, Driven by Labor Migration
Nepali youth at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu prepare to depart for foreign employment. (Photo: CB Adhikari/RSS)
The number of Nepalis leaving the country for overseas destinations has risen sharply in recent years, driven primarily by foreign employment, followed by tourism, education and migration-related travel, according to Department of Immigration data.
A total of 1.7 million Nepalis departed Nepal in 2025, nearly triple the 626,481 recorded in 2021, when international travel was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure rose to 1.397 million in 2022, 1.572 million in 2023 and 1.685 million in 2024.
Over the five-year period from 2021 through 2025, 7.126 million Nepalis traveled abroad for a range of purposes, including employment, study, tourism, family visits and temporary or permanent residence.
Foreign Employment Dominates
Foreign employment accounted for the largest share of overseas departures, representing 52% of all Nepalis traveling abroad during the past five years.
An average of 743,682 Nepalis left annually for overseas jobs during the period. In 2025, 866,310 Nepalis traveled abroad for employment, an increase of 16% from the five-year annual average.
The Department of Immigration said the trend highlights Nepal’s structural dependence on overseas labor and remittance income rather than on domestic job creation.
“Foreign employment accounting for 52% of all Nepali citizens traveling abroad over the past five years demonstrates the Nepali economy’s structural dependence on foreign employment,” the department said in its recently released annual publication, Annual Book 2083.
Tourism Ranks Second
Travel for tourism and pilgrimage was the second-largest reason for Nepalis to leave the country, accounting for 14% of total foreign departures over the five-year period.
In 2025 alone, 233,108 Nepalis traveled abroad for tourism or religious pilgrimage, immigration data showed.
Temporary residential travel represented 5.25% of departures, while permanent residential travel accounted for 4.20%. Together with employment-related travel, those categories suggest that more than 60% of overseas departures were linked to economic opportunity, migration or longer-term residence abroad.
Education Travel Expands
Education has emerged as another major reason for Nepalis to travel overseas. Students accounted for 6.9% of all departures between 2021 and 2025.
About 26,000 Nepalis left for educational purposes in 2021. By 2025, that number had risen nearly 400% to 133,780. The 2025 figure was also 36% above the five-year annual average.
The department said the numbers indicate that Nepali migration is no longer limited to short-term foreign labor. Instead, it is increasingly moving toward higher education, skills development and long-term settlement abroad.
“This trend shows that the purpose of Nepalis’ foreign travel is shifting from short-term employment toward education and long-term residence,” the department said.
Economic and Social Concerns
Labor and migration experts say the exodus of young workers may provide immediate relief through remittances but could impose serious long-term economic and social costs on Nepal.
Nilambar Badal, program chief at the National Network for Safe Migration and a labor and migration expert, said the departure of young people could reduce Nepal’s working-age population, increase the proportion of dependent residents and weaken domestic production over time.
“Immediately, it may appear that population growth is being controlled,” Badal said. “But the long-term effect could be a population imbalance in the future.”
Badal said Nepal risks losing productive workers while becoming increasingly dependent on imports. Urbanization has expanded, he said, but domestic production has not kept pace.
“Production is moving in one direction and imports in another. The two are not matching,” he said.
Agriculture, tourism and energy remain key sectors tied to Nepal’s own productive capacity, but Badal said the country continues to rely heavily on foreign resources, infrastructure and inputs. He also pointed to the conversion of agricultural land into housing as an indirect effect of overseas migration.
“Building a house in the city is one of the major goals for many people who go abroad,” Badal said. “To build those houses, we are compromising agricultural land.”
UAE Remains Top Destination
The United Arab Emirates was the leading destination for Nepali travelers, according to the Department of Immigration. An annual average of 271,000 Nepalis traveled to the UAE over the past five years, including 295,743 in 2025.
Qatar ranked second, receiving an annual average of 168,000 Nepalis during the five-year period and 182,496 in 2025. Saudi Arabia followed, with a five-year annual average of 144,000 Nepali arrivals and 154,143 in 2025.
India received 142,124 Nepali travelers in 2025, while Kuwait received 61,997. India and China were both among Nepal’s 10 leading destinations, although the true number of Nepalis traveling to India may be higher because of the open border and informal movement between the two countries.
Travel to developed countries also increased significantly. Australia received an annual average of 82,567 Nepalis over the five-year period, including 112,151 in 2025. Japan received an annual average of 81,748 Nepalis and 129,049 in 2025. The United States received 59,938 Nepali travelers in 2025.
Oman recorded one of the sharpest increases, with Nepali departures rising 117% above the five-year average to 35,296 in 2025. Departures to Thailand rose 74%, while travel to South Korea increased 59% and travel to Japan rose 58%.
Malaysia, traditionally one of Nepal’s major labor destinations, moved in the opposite direction. An average of 105,836 Nepalis traveled to Malaysia annually over the previous five years, but only 89,659 did so in 2025 — a decline of 16% from the average.