QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER | APR-JUN 2026

Pakistan’s migration story cannot be accurately understood through the simple binary of “brain drain” and “brain gain”. The evidence instead points to a more complex reality in which Pakistan continues to send large numbers of workers abroad, particularly to the labour markets of the Gulf, while also experiencing increasing outward mobility among students and highly skilled professionals. This produces a mixed set of outcomes for the country. On the one hand, migration generates substantial economic benefits through remittances and through the wider connections of the diaspora. On the other hand, it can impose serious costs in sectors where skilled workers are already in short supply and cannot be easily replaced.