GCC: Number of employed workers and percentage of non-nationals in employed population in GCC countries (2015-2021) (private sector)

  Bahrain Kuwait Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia UAE
  Total pop. employed in private sector Non-nationals in private sector % non-nationals in private sector Total pop. employed in private sector Non-nationals in private sector % non-nationals in private sector Total pop. employed in private sector Non-nationals 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 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 1,402,961 1,148,207 81.8 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 1,398,325 1,131,526 80.9 1,593,673 1,584,118 99.4 8,084,253 6,174,178 76.4 4,903,612

Sources: national institutes of statistics

 

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.

 

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.

Qatar: population of reference: labour force.

UAE: total population employed in private sector. Figures disaggregated by nationality are not available.

2- Sources of data:

Bahrain: Labour Market Regulation Authority (LMRA). Bahrain Labour Market Indicators (BLMI), Q4 2021,

http://blmi.lmra.bh/2021/12/data/lmr/Table_A.xlsx

Kuwait: Central Statistical Bureau. Integrated Database – LMIS, Q4 data, 2015 to 2021. https://lmis.csb.gov.kw/

Oman: Royal Oman Police in National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI). Monthly Statistical Bulletins (December data)

https://www.ncsi.gov.om/Elibrary/Pages/LibraryContentView.aspx

Qatar: Planning and Statistics Authority. Annual Bulletins of Labour Force Sample Surveys 2015 to 2021

https://www.psa.gov.qa/en/statistics/Statistical%20Releases/Social/LaborForce/2021/Annual_Bulletin_Labour_force_2021_AE.xlsx

Saudi Arabia: General Authority for Statistics (GAStat). Labour Force Surveys 2017 to 2021, 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

Last accessed: 4 December 2022.

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