Demographic Evolution of Pakistanis in America

Abstract

According to the last head count in 1981 the total population of Pakistan was 83.782 millions. In addition, “there are two million overseas Pakistanis, more than one million left behind families and half a million returnee migrants.” Let us assume that out of the 1.5 million Pakistanis who are working abroad at agiven time, 33.3 percent have an average of three dependents with them overseas. This brings the total number of persons of Pakistani origin and their offspring abroad to three million. It is estimated that over two-thirds of the working Pakistanis abroad are in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, UAE, Libya, Kuwait and Iraq. The rest of the total are working all over the world. After the Middle East, their largest concentration points are England, the U.S.A., Canada and Germany. Among the other countries with relatively smaller-but significant numbers-of persons of Pakistani origin are Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Denmark, Singapore, Nigeria, Kenya, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Today Pakistan is one of the leading countries in exporting its manpower to the rest of the world. It is not an exaggeration of facts to say that the foreign exchange sent home by the overseas Pakistanis is keeping Pakistan afloat economically in these uncertain times. In 1983, close to three billion dollars were sent by overseas Pakistanis to their country. This is, again, one of the largest amounts sent by workers ...