GULF EXPATS RETURNING TO THEIR HOME NATIONS

  • 02/08/2022

Kuwait City: Due to the extremely high cost of living, which made the GCC countries less desirable to work in—especially since the majority of GCC governments only distribute cash and in-kind subsidies for their citizens—expats living in the Gulf states are gradually returning to their home countries on their own volition. According to a report by the US Agency for the Middle East News, "themedialine," there are about 21 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain, but there are no official numbers available for the UAE, where nationals make up about 20% of the population overall and 11% of the labour force. 


The report emphasised that expatriate remittances in 2021 exceeded $127 billion, up from $116 billion in 2020. It also noted that last year saw the first increase in remittances from the region following a decline between 2017 and 2020. Remittances increased in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait last year, while they decreased in Bahrain and Oman. 

The article discussed the rising costs, fees, and taxes that expats must pay in the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where each member of a family must spend 4,500 riyals per month in addition to the country's exorbitant power and water rates. Bahrain also increased the price of gasoline by 200 percent, eliminated meat subsidies, offered its inhabitants cash allowances, drastically increased energy costs for expatriates, and made health insurance mandatory throughout the Kingdom.

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