KATHMANDU: A record-high number of Nepalis received labour permits for foreign employment in the fiscal year 2024/25, according to the Department of Foreign Employment.

The department announced on Friday that a total of 839,270 individuals were granted labour approvals, the highest figure recorded so far.

Out of the total, 744,811 were men and 94,455 were women, as shared during a press conference held by the department.

Director General Kamal Prasad Bhattarai stated that 60 percent of the permits were issued to first-time applicants, while 40 percent were renewals.

He said that 359,675 permits were issued through recruitment agencies, 333,309 were renewals, 133,627 were new individual permits, and 12,653 were under government-to-government (G2G) programs in South Korea, Israel, and the United Kingdom.

The top ten foreign employment destinations for Nepali workers in 2024/25 were the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Malaysia, Romania, Japan, South Korea, Croatia, and Bahrain.

On average, 69,939 permits were issued per month, with about 2,300 issued daily during the fiscal year.

According to the department, the UAE received the highest number of Nepali workers.

Labour permits—both institutional and individual—were issued for 69 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Bahrain, and several European nations.

The month of December in 2024 saw the highest number of labour permits issued in FY 2024/25.

Over the past five years, a total of 3,516,965 individuals received labour permits.

Among them, more than 839,000 were issued in 2024/25 alone, the highest annual figure so far.

Of the five-year total, 3,181,191 were men and 335,774 were women, according to Director General Bhattarai.