1,701 Ethiopians Flown Home From Saudi Arabia

Fana reported that 1,701 Ethiopians in difficult circumstances in Saudi Arabia returned home, received at the airport and at detention centres. No figure was given for how many remain.

1,701 Ethiopians who had been in difficult circumstances in Saudi Arabia returned to Ethiopia, Fana reported on Monday. Returnees were received at the airport and at detention centres, with support arranged before they were passed on to families.

Fana's report carried a further breakdown of the minors among the returnees. We could not confirm those figures against the original Amharic and are leaving them out rather than repeat a number we cannot stand behind.

A route that keeps running in both directions

Labour migration to the Gulf is one of Ethiopia's largest informal exports and one of its largest sources of household foreign currency. Returns on this scale are not new, and they are not the end of the flow — the same corridor that produced 1,701 returnees in one tranche continues to carry people out.

For employers at home, each tranche is a visible reminder of the gap the corridor exists to fill. The returnees arrive into a labour market that did not have work for them before they left.

Open

Fana did not say over what period the 1,701 returned, how many Ethiopians remain in Saudi detention, or what reintegration support follows the airport reception. The Ministry of Labour and Skills has not published figures of its own.

Sources: Fana Television, 5 October 2026