KATHMANDU: More than 3.5 million Nepalese are working in various countries, including Malaysia which has employed the largest number of Nepalese workers abroad, according to a report.
The report, from the Department of Labour and Employment, shows that about 700,000 Nepalese are currently working in Malaysia.
Over the past five years, more than two million Nepalese obtained permission from the government to seek employment abroad, with the majority choosing Malaysia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, it said.
Nearly an equal number are believed to have sought employment in the Gulf countries through illegal channels, with women constituting the majority of these workers, it added.
Last year, a total of 521,878 Nepalese, 29,154 of them women, left for foreign employment through the legal process, the report said.
The report said that Malaysia and a number of countries in the Middle East have sought to hire housemaids or caregivers from Nepal.
However, the Nepalese government does not allow women to work abroad as domestic workers due to reports of mistreatment of caregivers, mainly in the Gulf countries, it added. --BERNAMA