Check Youth Exodus

Every year, thousands of Nepali people leave their homes with big dreams and heavy hearts. From villages in the hills to crowded towns, families say goodbye to their children and siblings. In the hope of making enough money to support their loved ones at home, they take flight to the Gulf, Malaysia, South Korea, or farther west. 

Nepali people’s migration cannot be viewed only as an economic problem. It is about individuals and their future, talent, and energy who leave the country in search of something better that should have been possible at home. Along with workers, every plane taking off from Kathmandu also carries doctors, nurses, teachers, and dreamers. These individuals could have built Nepal, but instead, they built other countries. The sad reality is that this departure is not only about ambition, but it’s also about desperation. Most Nepali people do not leave because they want to; it is because they don’t have any options. There are few opportunities, few jobs, and corruption discourages hard work. For many, the safety is in leaving for abroad, even if that means leaving family, culture, and community. 

I think that loss is not just financial; it is also emotional and social. Parents grow old without their children close by. Communities lose their best and brightest. Villages have grandparents and children but no young people, who are the power of a nation. A country cannot go anywhere if its youth sees its future anywhere but home. This outflow of talent serves as a painful reminder that the country has not provided hope to its own people. If there is no environment for young people to feel valued and to see a means of growth and opportunities for themselves, Nepal will continue to export its talent and import remittance. This cannot be sustainable for a country forever.

Beyond economics and professional skills, the departure of young people also affects communities in deep, personal ways. Festivals are quieter, local businesses struggle, and traditions risk fading as fewer young people remain to carry them forward. Loneliness becomes a constant companion for parents and grandparents, while children grow up with only occasional calls or messages from siblings far away. The loss is not just measurable in money; it is felt in empty homes, missed milestones, and the quiet absence of energy and hope that the youth bring. 

The continuing brain drain represents the personal losses of each talented person who leaves a country. But it also represents a national loss. A future based on remittances is vulnerable, while a future based on the collective capability of youth can be enduring. We can keep allowing dreams to leave, or we can develop a country where dreams can be realised at home.

Nepal needs to create more pathways for its people through better educational access, decent employment, and a system that rewards hard work. When young people see that they have a real chance to succeed at home, they will choose to stay. Nepal can be a place where young people feel proud of with the collaboration of communities, leaders, and the government. Instead of looking beyond its borders, the youth can achieve their dreams inside Nepal.