Just over half of the Pakistani population is actively considering leaving the country in pursuit of better economic opportunities, though this sentiment is sharply rejected by the nation’s youngest demographic. According to the WIN Worldviews Survey 2026 released by Gallup Pakistan, 52% of adult Pakistanis indicated a willingness to relocate internationally, outpacing the global migration appetite of 46%.
The data exposes a deep demographic fracture regarding national economic confidence. While the broader adult population leans heavily toward emigration, the majority of Pakistani youth aged 18 to 24 prefer to remain in the domestic economy. Specifically, 56% of this younger cohort stated they would not move abroad, whereas only 44% would consider migrating.
“Pakistani youth are considerably less inclined to migrate and more likely to prefer remaining in their own country.”
This domestic anchoring among young Pakistanis starkly contrasts with international youth trends. Globally, a massive 66% of young people desire to move abroad—comprising 51% who would do so legally and 15% who would leave “regardless of the conditions”. Only 27% of the global youth population definitively prefers to stay in their home countries, compared to the 56% anchoring rate recorded in Pakistan.
(Note: Global general population totals exclude an 8% segment that provided no response or did not know, while the global youth total excludes a 7% non-response cohort.)
Among the 52% of the general Pakistani population willing to leave, 40% stated they would only execute the move if they could do so through legal channels, while a critical 12% declared they would migrate “regardless of the conditions”. Conversely, 48% of the general population definitively stated they would not move to another country, leaving less than 1% undecided.
The data situates Pakistan among nations exhibiting relatively high levels of youth hopefulness compared to advanced economies. In comparison, advanced European states reflect deep youth dissatisfaction; in Germany, 46% of youth would migrate legally and 20% would leave under any condition, while in France, the figures stand at 43% and 27%, respectively. In contrast, developing nations like Vietnam report youth migration intents closer to Pakistan, with 40% seeking legal migration and 59% preferring to stay.
The WIN Worldviews Survey 2026 aggregates data from approximately 45,000 interviews conducted across 45 countries. The domestic polling was executed by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, overseen by Gilani Research Foundation Chairman Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani. The nationally representative Pakistani sample encompassed 1,000 male and female respondents across urban and rural zones in all four provinces. The data was collected via telephonic surveys (CATI) between December 6, 2025, and January 14, 2026, carrying an estimated margin of error of $\pm2-3$ percent at the 95% confidence level.