Towards a Knowledge-based Labour Market in Saudi Arabia?
GCC Remittance Flows: Resiliency During Rough Seas
Sub-Saharan African Migrants in the Gulf States
Ageing in the Gulf States
Long-Term Residence: GCC Countries Making a Shift Toward Inclusive Social Policies
Interregional Consultative Migration Dialogues and the Abu Dhabi Dialogue in the GCC-Asia Migration Corridor
What is the Nature of the Employment Challenge in the GCC Countries?
Reforms without Rights: The GCC states’ blinkered view of labour reforms
Aspirations and Strategies to Remain in Saudi Arabia: the Case of Middle-Class South Asians
UAE as a Center of Innovation: Towards Attracting Global Talent
Second and Third Generation Foreign Residents Born in Kuwait
The Power of Micro-Level Data: Improving Precision in GCC Policy Design
Numbers Increasing, Dependency Decreasing: The GCC Changing Labor Immigration Emphasis
International Mobility of Tertiary-Level Students in Qatar
Arab Nationals in Saudi Arabia
Indians in the Gulf: The Migration Question and the Way Forward
Major Innovations in the Saudi Census 2022
Migration and Climate Change: The Case of the GCC Countries
GCC: Are Oil Prices No Longer a Driver of Population Growth?
Migratory Flows of Russian-speaking Populations to the UAE
Domestic Workers in the GCC: A Diverse Population
Qataris Make Up Only a Quarter of All Births
Five Decades of Semi- and Unskilled Labour Migration from Pakistan
Saudi Arabia: Changes in Labour Force Structure?
Explaining the “Demographic Imbalance” in the Gulf States
The 30 million foreign nationals residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region make up approximately 52 percent of the total population in the region. This “demographic imbalance” is the result of large immigration -the region hosted 11 per cent of the world’s total migrant stock in 2019 according to UN estimates- and to the quasi-absence of naturalisation of non-Gulf nationals, which recently has been loosened in some countries for distinct groups of foreign nationals.
Total population and percentage of nationals and non-nationals in GCC countries (mid-2020)
| Country | Total population | Nationals | Foreign nationals | % Nationals | % Non-nationals |
| Bahrain | 1,472,204 | 713,263 | 758,941 | 48.4 | 51.6 |
| Kuwait | 4,816,592 | 1,442,005 | 3,374,587 | 29.9 | 70.1 |
| Oman | 4,578,016 | 2,719,500 | 1,858,516 | 59.4 | 40.6 |
| Qatar | 2,833,679 | 338,000* | 2,495,679* | 11.8** | 88.2** |
| Saudi Arabia | 35,013,414 | 21,430,128 | 13,583,286 | 61.2 | 38.8 |
| UAE | 9,282,410 | 1,215,996* | 8,066,414* | 13.1** | 86.9** |
| Total | 57,996,315 | 27,858,892* | 30,137,423* | 48.0** | 52.0** |
| Source: National Institutes of Statistics and GLMM’s estimates based on data published by National Statistical Institutes. See the original table in GLMM’s database for more details (https://gulfmigration.grc.net/glmm-database/demographic-and-economic-module/).
* GLMM’s estimate, based on data published by National Statistical Institutes (see original table). ** Ratio is calculated based on population estimates (see original table). |
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In mid-2020, the population of foreign nationals in the Gulf States ranged from 39% in Saudi Arabia to 88% in Qatar. As a consequence, the ratio of nationals (indigenous citizens) to non-nationals (expatriate workers and their dependents) was skewed in favour of the latter in all Gulf states but two, which some perceive as a “demographic imbalance”. This may explain why the UAE and Qatar do not publish total population figures disaggregated by nationality.
Other regions worldwide, such as the EU or North America, which receive large numbers of immigrants, record migrants as “born abroad.” This suggests the integration of foreign residents within the society of the host states, and in the citizenry for those who are naturalized citizens. By contrast, Gulf states do not conceive themselves as immigration countries and record migrants as non-national, temporary expatriate workers (wafidîn). These have little social and no political membership. Conditions for naturalisations are very restrictive; the birth right does not apply, including for Gulf-born, second- or third generation expatriates.
Thus, the unique socio-demographic structure of Gulf societies stems from the opening of Gulf economies to exceptionally large numbers of foreign labourers since the 1950s, coupled with the quasi-closure of Gulf societies to the socio-political integration and in particular, to the naturalisation of non-Gulf nationals.
Therefore, the current “demographic imbalance” is likely to persist unless the policies regarding naturalisation and/or immigration of temporary labour undergo a significant change. Examples of such policies include avenues for long-term settlement in some countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE) and (limited) naturalization (UAE) for specific, small numbers of foreign nationals.
Measuring the impact of Covid-19 on migrant workers in the GCC and Jordan
Layers of Segmentation in GCCs Labour Markets: How Well do Migrant Women Fare?
Reforming the sponsorship system in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Opportunities and challenges as a result of COVID-19 and the fiscal crisis
Fertility Levels, Trends, and Differentials Among Kuwaiti Nationals
Fertility of Nationals in Qatar – Its Levels, Trends and Differentials in the Early 21st Century
Empowering Women and Fostering Fertility: Two Conflicting Policy Goals in Qatar?
Literature Survey and Bibliography on Fertility in Qatar and the GCC
Fertility in Qatar and in Other GCC States: Some Elements of Comparison
Working and Living Conditions of Low-Income Migrant Workers in the Hospitality and Construction Sectors in the United Arab Emirates
Working and Living conditions of Low-Income Migrant Workers in the hospitality and construction Sectors in Qatar
The Legal Framework of the Sponsorship Systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Comparative Examination
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Kuwait
Oman’s Legal Framework of Migration
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Bahrain
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Oman
Kuwait’s Legal Framework of Migration
Demography, Migration and Labour Market in Saudi Arabia
Qatar’s Legal Framework of Migration
Migration to the Gulf: Policies in Sending and Receiving Countries
Saudi Arabia’s Legal Framework of Migration
Bahrain’s Legal Framework of Migration
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in the UAE
Possible Impact of Saudi Women Driving on Female Employment and Reliance on Foreign Workers
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Qatar
United Arab Emirates’ Legal Framework of Migration
Wage Protection Systems and Programmes in the GCC
Dangers of Using Aggregated Data for Understanding Socio-Demographic Realities of the Gulf Region
Skilful Survival: Irregular Migration to the Gulf
Qatar’s Legal Framework of Migration
Taxing Remittances: Consequences for Migrant Labour Populations in the GCC Countries
A Note on Syrian Refugees in the Gulf: Attempting to Assess Data and Policies
The Legal Framework of the Sponsorship Systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: a Comparative Examination
Addressing Irregular Migration in the Gulf States
Demography, Migration, and the Labour Market in Oman
Oman’s Legal Framework of Migration
