A qualitative study of the factors driving the temporary migration of workers from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan to Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study aims to explore the drivers of the temporary migration of workers from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. Nearly two million Pakistanis work and live in Saudi Arabia; however, no such research has been conducted to study and configure their migration drivers. This research attempts to fill this gap. Data was qualitatively elicited from 90 workers in different cities of Saudi Arabia. The analysis depicts that a complex combination of the push-pull drivers such as poverty (96.66 %), un/employment (95 %), income/wage differentials (85%), family and peer pressure (80%), strong networks of relatives (76.66 %), desire to change the social status (68.33 %), turbulent environment (65 %), and religious affiliations and connectedness (95 %) provoke migration to Saudi Arabia. This study posits that the recent socioeconomic changes in Saudi Arabia, specifically the Saudization policy, quickly alter the economic migration inflow. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia will remain the top destination for religious migration.