Gulf Labour Markets, Migration, and Population (GLMM) Programme

An international independent, non-partisan, non-profit programme hosted and supported by the Gulf Research Center. The programme provides data, analyses, and recommendations contributing to the improvement of understanding and management of Gulf labour migration, population, and labour markets, engaging with and respecting the viewpoints of all stakeholders.

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GLMM Latest Publications

The Future of Migration to GCC Countries Migrants' Aspirations, Labour Reforms, and Politics Springer - South-South Migration Series
Françoise De Bel-Air, Nasra M. Shah
Developments in Arts and Culture in the GCC and Migratory Flows
Magdalena Karolak
Navigating the AI Revolution: Impacts and Policy Responses for Expatriate Populations in the GCC
Georges Naufal
Real estate market boom in the UAE and migration flows
Magdalena Karolak
Attracting and Retaining Highly Skilled Migrants in Saudi Arabia’s Transformation Journey
Yusra Al Shanqityi
International Science Faculty in Saudi Arabia Research Experiences and Challenges
Anju Mary Paul, Kurt W. Kuehne, Kareem El-Rafei and Bedoor AlShebli
The Global Competition for Talent How does Saudi Arabia Compare with Gulf and Global Peers?
Justin Alexander
High-Skilled Employment and Vision 2030: How Education and Training for Saudi Youth Align with Saudi Labour Market Demands
Moneerah AlMahmoud
Adapting to Change The Potential Impact of Technology and Demography on the Saudi Labour Market
Sylvain Cote
Future Skills Needed and Profiles of Workers Ways to Maximise Productivity of Labour
Mehmet A. Soytas
India as A Prime Country of Origin for Highly Skilled Migration to the Gulf. Perspectives of a Paradigm Shift in Indian Immigration of Talent to UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar
Binod Khadria
Qatar's Policy Landscape and its Impact on Highly Skilled Migration
Ameena Almeer, Misba Bhatti, Zahra Babar
Assets on the Move: Highly Skilled Migration from the Philippines to the Gulf
Jorge Tigno and Geoffrey M. Ducanes
Trends, Patterns, and Policies Regarding Highly Skilled Migrant Workers from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE
Nasra M. Shah and Memoona Qazi
Highly Skilled Migration from Egypt to the Gulf States
Dina Abdel Fattah
Highly Skilled Migration from Tunisia to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. Trends, Drivers and Policies
Ali Belhaj
From Laissez-Faire to A Centralised State Approach? A Critical Policy Analysis of the UAE’s Attraction and Retention Approach Towards High-Skilled Migration in the Post-COVID-19 Era
Froilan Malit, Jr
National and Foreign Populations in GCC Countries
Françoise De Bel-Air
Highly Skilled Migration to Saudi Arabia: Labour Policy Reforms and the Global Competition for Talents
Aging in the Gulf Countries and Implications for Migration to the Region Webinar Summary and Key Outcomes
Gulf Research Center’s Meeting Investigates the Future of Labour and Migration to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
The Regulation of Platform Work and Labour Hire Companies for Migrant Workers in the Gulf Council Cooperation Countries – a New Challenge or an Old Problem?
Sophia Kagan and Ryszard Cholewinski
Towards a Knowledge-based Labour Market in Saudi Arabia?
Françoise De Bel-Air
GCC Remittance Flows: Resiliency During Rough Seas
Georges Naufal
Sub-Saharan African Migrants in the Gulf States
Françoise De Bel-Air
Ageing in the Gulf States
Françoise De Bel-Air
Long-Term Residence: GCC Countries Making a Shift Toward Inclusive Social Policies
Magdalena Karolak
Interregional Consultative Migration Dialogues and the Abu Dhabi Dialogue in the GCC-Asia Migration Corridor
Froilan Malit
What is the Nature of the Employment Challenge in the GCC Countries?
Wasseem Mina
Reforms without Rights: The GCC states’ blinkered view of labour reforms
Rima Kalush and Vani Saraswathi
Aspirations and Strategies to Remain in Saudi Arabia: the Case of Middle-Class South Asians
Areej Jamal
UAE as a Center of Innovation: Towards Attracting Global Talent
Magdalena Karolak
Second and Third Generation Foreign Residents Born in Kuwait
Françoise De Bel-Air
The Power of Micro-Level Data: Improving Precision in GCC Policy Design
Georges Naufal
Numbers Increasing, Dependency Decreasing: The GCC Changing Labor Immigration Emphasis
Onn Winckler
International Mobility of Tertiary-Level Students in Qatar
Sharique Umar
Arab Nationals in Saudi Arabia
Françoise De Bel-Air
Indians in the Gulf: The Migration Question and the Way Forward
Irudaya S. Rajan & Divya Balan
Major Innovations in the Saudi Census 2022
Françoise De Bel-Air
Migration and Climate Change: The Case of the GCC Countries
Georges Naufal
GCC: Are Oil Prices No Longer a Driver of Population Growth?
Françoise De Bel-Air
Migratory Flows of Russian-speaking Populations to the UAE
Magdalena Karolak
Domestic Workers in the GCC: A Diverse Population
Françoise De Bel-Air
Qataris Make Up Only a Quarter of All Births
Françoise De Bel-Air
Five Decades of Semi- and Unskilled Labour Migration from Pakistan
Nasra M. Shah
Saudi Arabia: Changes in Labour Force Structure?
Françoise De Bel-Air
Explaining the "Demographic Imbalance" in the Gulf States
Françoise De Bel-Air
Measuring the impact of Covid-19 on migrant workers in the GCC and Jordan
Françoise De Bel-Air
Layers of Segmentation in GCCs Labour Markets: How Well do Migrant Women Fare?
Usamah F. Alfarhan
Reforming the sponsorship system in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Opportunities and challenges as a result of COVID-19 and the fiscal crisis
Sophia Kagan and Ryszard Cholewinski*
Fertility Levels, Trends, and Differentials Among Kuwaiti Nationals
Nasra M. Shah and Philippe Fargues
Fertility of Nationals in Qatar - Its Levels, Trends and Differentials in the Early 21st Century
Philippe Fargues,Noof Abdulhadi Al-Rakeb
Empowering Women and Fostering Fertility: Two Conflicting Policy Goals in Qatar?
Philippe Fargues
Literature Survey and Bibliography on Fertility in Qatar and the GCC
Jihan Safar
Fertility in Qatar and in Other GCC States: Some Elements of Comparison
Françoise De Bel-Air
Working and Living Conditions of Low-Income Migrant Workers in the Hospitality and Construction Sectors in the United Arab Emirates
Philippe Fargues, Nasra M. Shah, Imco Brouwer
Working and Living conditions of Low-Income Migrant Workers in the hospitality and construction Sectors in Qatar
Philippe Fargues, Nasra M. Shah, Imco Brouwer
The Legal Framework of the Sponsorship Systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Comparative Examination
Maysa Zahra
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Kuwait
Françoise De Bel-Air
Oman’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Bahrain
Françoise De Bel-Air
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Oman
Françoise De Bel-Air
Kuwait’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Demography, Migration and Labour Market in Saudi Arabia
Françoise De Bel-Air
Qatar’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Migration to the Gulf: Policies in Sending and Receiving Countries
Philippe Fargues, Nasra M. Shah
Saudi Arabia’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Bahrain’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in the UAE
Françoise De Bel-Air
Possible Impact of Saudi Women Driving on Female Employment and Reliance on Foreign Workers
Françoise De Bel-Air,Nasra M. Shah,Philippe Fargues,Usamah Alfarhan
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Qatar
Françoise De Bel-Air
United Arab Emirates’ Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Wage Protection Systems and Programmes in the GCC
Ray Jureidini
Dangers of Using Aggregated Data for Understanding Socio-Demographic Realities of the Gulf Region
Nasra M. Shah
Skilful Survival: Irregular Migration to the Gulf
Philippe Fargues, Nasra M. Shah
Qatar’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Taxing Remittances: Consequences for Migrant Labour Populations in the GCC Countries
Froilan Malit, Jr. and George Naufal
A Note on Syrian Refugees in the Gulf: Attempting to Assess Data and Policies
Françoise De Bel-Air
The Legal Framework of the Sponsorship Systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: a Comparative Examination
Maysa Zahra
Addressing Irregular Migration in the Gulf States
Philippe Fargues, Françoise De Bel-Air, Nasra M. Shah
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Oman
Françoise De Bel-Air
Oman’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in the UAE
Françoise De Bel-Air
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Bahrain
Françoise De Bel-Air
United Arab Emirates’ Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Evaluating Financial Literacy training for Migrant Workers in the Gulf
Ganesh K. Seshan
The Socio- political Background and Stakes of ‘Saudizing’ the Workforce in Saudi arabia: the Nitaqat policy
Françoise De Bel-Air
Current progress in the Nationalisation programmes in Saudi arabia
Hend M. Alsheikh
Bahrain’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Ethnography, Anthropology and Migration to the Arabian Peninsula: Themes from an Ethnographic Research Trajectory
Andrew M. Gardner
Recent Amnesty Programmes for Irregular Migrants in Kuwait and Saudi arabia: Some Successes and Failures
Nasra M. Shah
Demography, Migration, and Labour Market in Qatar
Françoise De Bel-Air
The Legal Framework of the Sponsorship Systems of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait: a Comparative Examination
Maysa Zahra
Saudi Arabian Investor Class Visas: An Overview
Arwa Aulaqi
The Story of Remittance Flows from the GCC Countries
George S. Naufal, Ismail H. Genc
Essential yet Invisible: Migrant Domestic Workers in the GCC
Bina Fernandez
Arab Gulf States: Recruitment of Asian Workers
Ray Jureidini
Arab Gulf States: An Assessment of Nationalisation Policies
Steffen Hertog
Data Discrepancies between the Census and Civil Registration Systems in Kuwait: Reasons, Implications and Solutions
Nasra M. Shah
Demography, Migration and Labour Market in Saudi Arabia
Françoise De Bel-Air
Saudi Arabia’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Kuwait’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
Qatar’s Legal Framework of Migration
Maysa Zahra
The Demographic and Economic Framework of Migration in Kuwait
Françoise De Bel-Air

See all the publications

GLMM Latest Demo-Eco Data

09/03/2026

UAE: Total population residing in the UAE, by sex (2000-2024)

09/03/2026

UAE: Total population residing in the UAE and demographic growth rates (2000-2024)

09/03/2026

UAE: Percentage distribution of total employed population (aged 15 and above) by sex and major occupation category (2023)

All demo-eco data

GLMM Latest Legal Documents

09/07/2023

UAE; Introduction of Employment Contracts for National Students

09/07/2023

Bahrain: Regarding the Wages Protection Scheme

02/07/2023

UAE; Violations & Administrative Penalties Related to the Initiatives and Programs

All legal documents

GLMM Books

31/12/2025

The Future of Migration to GCC Countries Migrants’ Aspirations, Labour Reforms, and Politics Springer – South-South Migration Series

Type: Book

by Françoise De Bel-Air, Nasra M. Shah

16/06/2018

Migration to the Gulf: Policies in Sending and Receiving Countries

Type: Book

by Philippe Fargues, Nasra M. Shah

13/05/2017

Skilful Survival: Irregular Migration to the Gulf

Type: Book

by Philippe Fargues, Nasra M. Shah

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