ISLAMABAD: The majority of youth in Pakistan expressed their willingness to stay in the country permanently, an Ipsos Pakistan survey revealed.
The survey was carried out from September 20 to 27, 2024, and included over 1,600 people aged 18 to 34.
As per the survey, 74% of Pakistanis said they had no intention to leave the country permanently and wanted to contribute to the country’s development, but 26% said they wanted to move abroad if they got a chance.
Among the 26% of Pakistanis who expressed their willingness to leave the country, the most favored destination was the Middle East including 30% to Saudi Arabia and 20% to Dubai. Whereas, 9% of them wished to settle in the United Kingdom, 8% in Canada, 8% in America, 5% in Europe, and 3% in Australia. Other popular countries were Turkey, Qatar, Italy, and Germany.
According to the survey, among those who wanted to move abroad, 46 per cent of them belonged to Islamabad, while 35 per cent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 27 per cent from Punjab, 21 per cent from Balochistan, and 20 per cent from Sindh.
Furthermore, the survey revealed that 36 per cent of the youth showed a willingness to leave Pakistan belonged to the upper middle class or the privileged class. 28% from the middle class and 23% from the unprivileged class had the intention to settle abroad.
Several socio-economic factors were identified as influencing emigration preferences by the survey.
