In 2025, about 5,500 citizens of Kyrgyzstan left for work abroad through the Center for Employment of Citizens Abroad, while other 19,500 were employed via private recruitment agencies. Esenbek Ergeshov, head of the Labor Migration Department at the center, said on Birinchi Radio.
According to him, citing data from the International Organization for Migration, a total of 170,000 citizens of Kyrgyzstan went abroad in 2025.
«Our center and private agencies jointly employed around 25,000 people, which is about 15 percent of the total number of citizens leaving the country. The remaining 85 percent travel independently or through acquaintances and word of mouth marketing. Some of them end up in difficult situations, including labor exploitation, forced labor, or human trafficking. Using official channels helps protect labor rights and allows monitoring of citizens until they return home,» Ergeshov said.
He noted that the number of citizens leaving for work has decreased in recent years.
«Five years ago, around 1 million of our citizens left annually for employment. Many have returned due to improvements in the socio-economic situation in Kyrgyzstan and rising wages. While the country previously mainly exported labor, it is now also receiving foreign workers. At that time, only up to 10,000 people — or about 1 percent of those leaving — were employed through our center and private agencies. This shows that citizens are becoming more informed about legal employment channels and better protected,» he added.
The Center for Employment of Citizens Abroad provides consultations on working abroad and pre-departure training, including information on the laws, culture, customs, and rules of conduct in destination countries.
