Bahrain			Kuwait			Oman			Qatar			Saudi Arabia			UAE
	Total pop. employed in private sector	Non-nationals employed in private sector	% non-nationals in private sector	Total pop. employed in private sector	Non-nationals employed in private sector	% non-nationals in private sector	Total pop. employed in private sector	Non-nationals employed in private sector	% non-nationals in private sector	Total labour force in private sector	Non-nationals in private sector	% non-nationals in private sector	Total pop. employed in private sector	Non-nationals employed in private sector	% non-nationals in private sector	Total pop. employed in private sector
2015	546,572	445,374	81.5	1,480,249	1,410,010	95.3	1,583,462	1,373,842	86.8	1,511,627	1,499,956	99.2	10,140,936	8,416,681	83.0	4,734,285
2016	611,229	509,062	83.3	1,580,347	1,509,087	95.5	1,728,019	1,504,936	87.1	1,602,630	1,592,577	99.4	10,168,137	8,492,965	83.5	4,851,582
2017	599,714	495,912	82.7	1,638,020	1,566,782	95.7	1,741,496	1,502,808	86.3	1,606,550	1,596,340	99.4	9,701,960	7,928,287	81.7	5,012,634
2018	608,220	503,006	82.7	1,698,528	1,625,589	95.7	1,687,285	1,435,153	85.1	1,652,818	1,642,498	99.4	8,599,487	6,895,514	80.2	4,980,272
2019	605,824	498,999	82.4	1,714,063	1,640,830	95.7	1,626,288	1,363,955	83.9	1,661,807	1,651,951	99.4	8,138,590	6,437,886	79.1	5,094,407
2020	564,641	460,022	81.5	1,567,114	1,494,133	95.3	1,468,057	1,115,322	76.0	1,710,948	1,702,251	99.5	8,026,901	6,280,145	78.2	4,799,196
2021	557,863	448,485	80.4	1,434,824	1,362,602	95.0	1,482,180	1,107,574	74.7	1,593,673	1,584,118	99.4	8,084,253	6,174,178	76.4	4,903,612
2022	609,547	496,318	81.4	1,572,384	1,500,551	95.4	1,742,955	1,359,776	78.0	1,675,213	1,665,285	99.4	9,422,233	7,227,688	76.7	NA
2023	NA	NA	NA	1,656,955	1,584,125	95.6	1,853,973	1,454,170	78.4	1,721,695	1,710,971	99.4	10,292,270	7,991,679	77.6	NA

Sources: national institutes of statistics and relevant national institutions

1- Definitions and remarks:

Non-nationals are:

1- persons bearing nationality of a foreign State other than the GCC State of residence, or bearing no proof of nationality from any given state (stateless persons and holders of refugee status and travel document in a third country);

2- Holders of residence permit residing in the given GCC country at date of census, as per definition of residence used in each of the countries.

Unless stated otherwise (if specific categories of workers are excluded from statistics, for instance), employment refers to: all persons of working age (15 and above), who during a reference period worked to produce goods or provide services for pay (cash or kind) or worked for profit from their own (or partially owned) business or worked without pay in the family business or with other individuals. It also includes those who have a temporary absence from a job during the reference period due to vacation or illness or any other reason.

Figures refer to workers employed in the private sector.

Reference period: end of year.

• Q4 of quarterly data published for Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia

• Annual data published for Oman, Qatar, UAE.

Bahrain: employment data include all civilian employed persons in the private and public sectors (insured, uninsured and self-employed) and domestic workers.

Starting from Q1 2010, LMRA is using data from LMRA Expat management System (EMS) to produce the total number of foreign worker employment in public and private sectors.

No data on employment by sector after Q2 2023.

Kuwait: data are taken from administrative records. The Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) maintains statistics on workers in the private sector.

Oman: “Private sector” includes Private, Communal and Other Sectors.

2020 and after: employment data is taken from National Registration system (includes insured and uninsured employees).

Qatar: population of reference: labour force.

Labour Force Survey data are collected on a monthly basis, and based on field surveys.

Saudi Arabia: figures of workers in Labor Market statistics are taken from administrative records.

They do not include the following categories:

1-Workers in the military and security sectors

2- Workers who are not registered in the civil service, social insurance (GOSI) and domestic workers’ records, which include:

• Saudis working for their own businesses and are not subjected to the labor regulations, also, not registered in social insurance, such as those who work in delivery through electronic apps

• Saudi employers who work in establishments and not registered in the social insurance

• Non-Saudi staff working in foreign, international, political or military missions

3- Non-Saudi employees who come to the Kingdom for work that normally takes less than three months to be completed.

UAE: total population (nationals+non-nationals) employed in private sector. Figures disaggregated by nationality are not available.

No data available after 2021.

2- Sources of data:

Bahrain: Labour Market Regulation Authority (LMRA). Bahrain Labour Market Indicators (BLMI), Q4 2022,

https://blmi.lmra.gov.bh/2022/12/mi_dashboard.xml

No data on employment by sector after Q2 2023.

Kuwait: Central Statistical Bureau. Integrated Database – LMIS, Q4 data, 2015 to 2023.

https://lmis.csb.gov.kw/

Oman: National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI). Statistical Yearbook 2024, Chapter “Employment”

https://www.ncsi.gov.om/Elibrary/LibraryContentDoc/bar_bar_Statistical%20Year%20Book%202024%20Issue%2052_a0f3084d-42a7-4183-83c0-3c9e603f89b5.pdf

https://www.ncsi.gov.om/Pages/Publications.aspx

Qatar: Planning and Statistics Authority. Annual Bulletins of Labour Force Sample Surveys 2015 to 2023

https://www.psa.gov.qa/en/statistics1/pages/topicslisting.aspx?parent=Social&child=LaborForce

Saudi Arabia: General Authority for Statistics (GAStat). Labour Force Surveys 2017 to 2023, Q4 data.

https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/814

2015-2016: Saudi Arabia Central Bank (SAMA). Yearly statistics

https://www.sama.gov.sa/en-US/EconomicReports/Pages/report.aspx?cid=127

UAE: Labour Market Information System, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE).

https://www.mohre.gov.ae/en/data-library/statistical-report.aspx

No data available since 2021.

Last accessed: 2 September 2024

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Keywords: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Employment, Female Employment, Labour Market, National & Foreign Labour

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