West Asia conflict puts Nepal's foreign employment and remittance economy at risk

Escalating conflict across West Asia is putting serious pressure on Nepal's foreign employment sector, which sends an average of 2,299 workers abroad daily according to Department of Foreign Employment data.

Of those, an average of 1,773 workers per day travel to six Gulf countries now affected by conflict. Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates nearly two million Nepalis are currently working in the region.

Labour expert Jeevan Baniya warned that if the war prolongs, new labour outflows will decline sharply and workers already abroad face growing risk of job loss. More than 80,000 individuals have already registered through a government repatriation programme. The situation mirrors the COVID-19 crisis, when mass returns created severe economic strain.

Policy responses—reintegration support, skills programmes, and safe-migration corridors—will matter as much as headline deployment numbers.