Sri Lanka, July 15 -- From January to June 2025, a total of 144,379 Sri Lankan workers have gone abroad for employment, according to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).

The bureau reports a higher number of male workers (88,684) compared to female workers (55,695) among those who migrated for work during this period.

The State of Kuwait received the largest number of Sri Lankan workers, 38,806, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 28,973, and Qatar with 21,958 workers.

A noticeable trend is the increasing shift from the Middle East to East Asian countries, with 6,073 workers heading to Japan and 3,134 to South Korea during the same period.

Meanwhile, the SLBFE stated that remittances from foreign workers reached U...