Kuwait: The number of expatriate workers living in the GCC countries reached 13.86 million end of December, up from 13 million in 2015.
According to official statistics, expatriate workers make up 69.3 per cent of the overall number of the workforce – without taking into account the expatriate working community in the United Arab Emirates.
According to figures released yesterday by the GCC Statistics Centre, the overall workforce, including, nationals, stands at 20 million.
The proportion of expatriate workers made up 67.8pc of the overall workforce by the end of 2015.
A recent report released last week by the World Bank revealed that the GCC states top all countries in the world regard the proportion of the expatriate working community.
Foreign workers are now confronting mounting pressures due to the plummeting oil prices, austerity measures, stalled projects and the employment policies.
Saudi Arabia topped the GCC states with a rate of unemployment of 12.1pc end of 2016, followed by the UAE 6.9pc, Kuwait 4.7pc, Bahrain 3.3pc, then Qatar 0.4pc. No official unemployment figures regarding Oman.