More than 66,000 Nepalis migrated abroad for permanent residence in 2024, according to a report released by the Department of Immigration. The data shows that 66,835 Nepalis left the country for permanent settlement in the review year, with more men than women among opting for settlement abroad. A total of 34,544 men and 32,287 women migrated abroad in 2024.

Overall, 1.674 million people traveled through Nepal’s immigration system in 2024. Although a significant number of Nepalis left the country, the number of those migrating permanently was lower than in 2023, when 70,915 Nepalis moved abroad for permanent residence. "These figures are based on the reasons stated at the time of departure. They indicate that many Nepalis are migrating permanently or residing abroad temporarily," said a senior official at the Department of Immigration.

The official noted that Nepalis are leaving the country for various reasons, including family reunification, temporary residence, pilgrimage, employment, dependency, and business. According to the 2021 National Census, 2.19 million Nepalis were living abroad. Of this total, 1.79 million were men and 390,917 were women, belonging to 1.56 million families. However, government officials lack comprehensive data on the total number of Nepalis who have migrated permanently in past years.

The data also reveals that in 2024, the highest number of Nepalis—856,422—traveled abroad for employment. According to the Department of Foreign Employment, most Nepali workers went to Dubai, Qatar, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia with work permits. However, while a significant number of Nepalis also migrate to India for work, their exact numbers are not recorded.

In addition to employment migration, a large number of Nepalis traveled abroad for education. Statistics show that 119,409 Nepalis left the country for studies in 2024 with a no-objection letter from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology.