Nepalese migrant laborers are helping to keep both Croatia’s tourism industry and their own remittance-dependent homeland afloat, yet the same system may expose them to violence, debt and political isolation.
Officially over 2.5 million Nepalis – 7.5 percent of the population – work abroad, most on construction sites and in hotels and industries in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia, with others in India, Malaysia and now also in Europe.
The money they send back constitutes more than a third of Nepal’s GDP, making remittances a major pillar of the country’s economy, according to the World Bank.
Nepali remittances from Croatia alone hit 68.5 million euros in 2023 – double the previous year – amid increased migration.
Foreign Workers ‘Saved’ Croatian Tourism, While the Population Fears Replacement
As Croatia’s population diminishes and it suffers with staff shortages in vital sectors, tens of thousands of foreign workers from Asia have arrived in recent years, a trend that increased after the nation entered Europe’s passport-free Schengen zone in 2023.
In January-February 2025, officials awarded 34,440 residence and work permits, with Nepalis leading the list at 8,200 – about 24 percent – followed by Filipinos (4,400) and Indians (4,000); about 22,000 were new permits, up roughly 2,000 from last year.
Last year saw 206,500 permits overall, a 20 percent rise, mainly by construction (75,000 or 36.3 percent) and tourism/hospitality (56,000), where foreign workers helped “save” last year’s tourism season.”
Bosnia led traditionally as the largest supplier of foreign workers with 38,100 in 2024, while Nepalis now come a close second (35,600).
An Institute for Migration Research survey indicated that more than 60 percent of Croatians were dissatisfied with the presence of foreign workers, up from 46 percent a year earlier.
Respondents highlighted fears over a possible rise in crime, pressure on salaries, job losses and cultural differences, while some right-wing politicians have characterized foreign workers as part of a scheme to “replace” European populations.
Nepal: The ‘Remittance-Dependent Economy’
Economic emigration intensified during Nepal’s decade-long Maoist insurgency, as young people went to cities and later into “foreign employment,” and has persisted as agriculture and tourism have stagnated.
The Department of Foreign Employment issued 287,519 permits to work abroad in 2016 and nearly three times more last year, according to official records.
Migrant worker groups say the government has grown “addicted” to the money that keeps the economy going, pushing “foreign employment” instead of investing in local business.
Between 2008 and 2025, 14,843 Nepalis are recorded to have died overseas, including 1,544 last year alone, but few are listed as working deaths. NGOs say many recruitment businesses defy the regulations and that abuses routinely go unpunished, while the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security insists it is focused on “safeguarding migrant workers’ interests,” even as officials concede their “only shortcoming is proper implementation.”
