Why Are Pakistanis Leaving Country

#Study Abroad After High School

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In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the number of Pakistani students pursuing higher education abroad. As many as 765,000 left Pakistan for a bright future in 2022, and last year, over 811,000. In 2024, 700,000 people left Pakistan for a bright future. It includes highly educated and skilled youth, young doctors, engineers, IT experts, accountants, and paramedics. Pakistan is the world’s fifth-largest nation by population; its estimated number of 15–19-year-olds places it in third place behind India and China. The country’s demographic dividend is a huge asset, but it also creates growing pressure for university places and the need for Pakistan to upskill its youth.

#Study Abroad After High School

Challenges Faced by Pakistani Students

Pakistani Universities According to QS World University Rankings 2025

Unfortunately, Pakistan lacks university places due to the growing need for youth, and not only this but not a single of these universities is listed in the top 200 universities by the QS world university rankings.

And those in the top 500 universities are very competitive, allowing only 1-5% of the youth to get quality education.

In this scenario, the only option people have is to send their children abroad for study and a better future.

Now, this is one reason why Pakistani students are the highest in number after China and India in going abroad for higher education. But this is not the only reason. Several other reasons are causing the massive shift of students abroad.

First, the quality of education is very low in Pakistan. A British Council research launch highlighted that 8 out of 10 children in Pakistan cannot read a paragraph comprehensively.

Individual Growth Value

Second place (Individual value) plays another important role. Studying abroad increases individual value not only in Pakistan but worldwide. In contrast, in Pakistan, 7000 MBBS students and 100,000 Engineers are jobless.

Limited Access to Specialized Programs and Facilities

Less chances of individual growth becomes another reason for Pakistani undergraduate students to opt for studying abroad. Those who have completed their bachelor’s studies here try to do postgraduate study abroad or opt to enrol themselves in some courses. 

Apart from this, Pakistan doesn’t have many opportunities to study new subjects like AI, robotics, social sciences, and many other emerging subjects that other countries offer.

In Pakistan, students stick to the medical and engineering fields, which automatically results in increasing competition between students and leads to unemployment. But here comes another factor that is (lack of knowledge) that students only choose such courses in universities.

Economic Constraints and Life Security

The increasing number of cases where students see no life security, political and economic stability, or career assurance nowadays becomes another reason for opting to study abroad.

So, apparently, the number of visa applications and grants is increasing each passing year for two main reasons.

Number 1: students see no future for themselves in Pakistan

Number 2: increasing social media news and information.

But there are other big reasons, too, for pushing students abroad. For example, there is a lot of information available, and students can obtain scholarships.

Limited Career Counseling and Guidance

The Pakistan student market is composed of three foremost categories.

The first category is the upper class, which has money, knowledge, and resources to study abroad.

The second category is the middle class, which includes people with knowledge and grades who work hard to get scholarships to study abroad.

The third category is the lower class of people who do not have enough money, knowledge, or resources but still dream of studying abroad for a better future. Consultants like us work very hard to find the best options and make their dreams a reality.

The stats show that the majority of Pakistani students who went abroad are from Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi, the three major cities.

However, “the main difference between cities is not geographical. It’s the difference between big metropolitan cities and smaller regional cities. Students are more switched on and better connected in the big cities. They’re very aware of other countries and the opportunities there. They also usually have better English. Social media is a huge part of their life“.

According to these comments, we should guide and train other cities’ students for studying abroad.

Lack of Global Exposure and International Networking

While covering all these issues, let us highlight another critical point. 

In Pakistan, students mainly know about popular destinations such as the United Kingdom and with increasing networking over the last ten years, Australia has become a competitor of the UK due to the work opportunities it provides; after 2019, Canada also included Pakistan in their streamlined system due to which the success rate of study visa increases.

But what about other locations? There are many emerging studying abroad locations that students are not aware of, again because of a lack of resources and information.

Interestingly, most of these destinations provide a better living experience and offer scholarships. To learn more about emerging study abroad destinations, visit our website.

Conclusion

After knowing all the aspects and current situation of Pakistani education and living, it is very important to educate yourself correctly and to get in touch with the right information provider.

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