Nepal, despite being one of the richest countries in terms of nature, culture and great potential is on the verge of a silent crisis, brain drain. A large number of Nepalese choose to migrate from Nepal for better education, better lifestyle and jobs in countries like the U.S., Australia, and Canada. People choose to leave their motherland due to lack of better opportunities, low income, and instability at home leading the country into critical loss of human capital in major areas like technology, medicine, and management.
Despite the Nepal government trying to retain youth within the country, the number of people going abroad has continued to increase. Reports suggest that over 1.52 million Nepalese flew away in 2025 for better prospects marking a record migration in a single year according to the Department of Foreign Employment.
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| Source: The Rising Nepal |
Migration rose from around 750,000 in 1990 to a total of 2.6 million by 2020 which is the highest rate in South Asia after Afghanistan. The department stated that a total of 1,523,000 Nepalis left between 1st January until 31st December 2025.
Nepal Must Create 6.5 Million Jobs by 2050
According to a recent report presented by the World Bank, Nepal must create employment for 6.5 million people in order to cope with the human crisis by 2050. Although the World Bank upgraded Nepal from a low income to a lower middle income country in 2019, it's a big challenge for Nepal to achieve upper middle income status by 2030. Particularly, the decline of human capital has been a big concern over the past decades.
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| Source: Online Khabar |
Remittances have been playing a key role in the country’s economy. According to the reports presented by the Nepal Rastra Bank, remittance inflows have increased by 29 percent to 6.16 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of the current 2025-26 fiscal year that began in mid-July. The number is equivalent to almost a quarter of Nepal’s GDP that plays a crucial role in poverty reduction in the country funding healthcare, education and housing, however, this comes with a cost.
While the remittance figure is significant, the Nepali students going abroad for studies have taken 5 kharba 65 arba rupees which is equivalent to $38,000,000 to $40,000,000 USD approximately in the first five months of the current fiscal year.
Domestic job creation has always been a great challenge in Nepal as people face problems finding jobs that match their experience that limits Nepal’s ability to take advantage of their acquired skills. The income level in Nepal is comparatively low and concentrated in the informal sector. Reports suggest that 4 out of 10 new working-age people found jobs between the year 2010 and 2018 and present context, 82% of Nepal’s workforce remains informal.
The report of the World Bank suggests that increasing quality employment opportunities, emphasizing gender equality in the labour force, and focusing on returning migrants back to the country can solve the problem of human capital but it can only be fulfilled if the government plays a key role to control brain drain within a few years of time.
