Pakistan Targets 1 Million Pakistani Workers Saudi Arabia 2030

PAKISTAN & KSA – Pakistan wants to send 1 million Pakistani workers Saudi Arabia by 2030, according to a new plan laid out in the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26. The goal is part of a bigger push to match Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 growth plans with Pakistan’s large and growing workforce.

Saudi Arabia has been Pakistan’s biggest job market abroad for decades. Since 1972, more than 15 million Pakistanis have moved overseas for work, and most of them, over 96 percent, went to Gulf countries, mainly Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

This new push comes as Saudi Arabia pours money into construction, tourism, aviation, health care, and tech under its Vision 2030 program. That means more jobs, not just for laborers, but for skilled and trained workers too. Pakistan wants a bigger slice of those higher-paying roles instead of sticking to low-skilled work.

The plan falls under something called the Saudi-Pakistan Economic Cooperation Framework, or SPECF. Under this deal, both countries have worked out a Human Resource Deployment Plan running from 2025 to 2039. The early target is 1 million workers by 2030, growing to 1.51 million yearly placements by 2039.

In 2025 alone, Saudi Arabia took in 530,256 Pakistani workers, nearly 70 percent of everyone who registered for jobs abroad that year. Qatar came in second with 68,376 workers, and the UAE followed with 52,664.

Jobs in the UAE actually dropped compared to last year, falling from over 64,000 to about 52,000. Experts point to tighter visa rules and shifting job market conditions there. Oman saw a similar dip, largely because of policies favoring local hires over foreign workers.

Training is a big part of Pakistan’s strategy. The plan focuses on preparing workers for Saudi Arabia’s massive construction and infrastructure projects, along with jobs in hospitality, health care, IT, and engineering. Pakistan is also working with Saudi institutions to make sure local qualifications and training match what employers there actually need.

To fund all this, Pakistan has proposed a $3.8 billion investment package. Most of that, $2.7 billion, would go toward technical and vocational training, while $1 billion would support higher education. The idea is to build training centers and skill hubs that produce work-ready graduates.

So far, the plan is already showing results. More than 70 agreements were signed between 2024 and 2025, and over 4,700 workers have already been placed since a major recruitment expo last year.

Pakistan is also eyeing Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The country hopes to train between 300,000 and 400,000 workers for the tournament, covering everything from infrastructure to aviation and tourism services.

Under a skills-testing program known as TAKMOL, Pakistan screened over 366,000 candidates with confirmed Saudi job offers between July 2025 and March 2026. About 292,000 of them passed, putting the success rate at roughly 80 percent.