GCC: Total population and percentage of nationals and non-nationals in GCC countries (selected countries, national statistics, mid-2021)

Country	Total population	Nationals	Foreign nationals	% nationals	% non-nationals
Bahrain	1,504,365	719,333	785,032	47.8	52.2
Kuwait	4,627,674	1,473,261	3,154,413	31.8	68.2
Oman	4,479,373	2,766,808	1,712,565	61.8	38.2
Qatar	2,748,162	NA	NA	NA	NA
Saudi Arabia	34,110,821	21,690,648	12,420,173	63.6	36.4
UAE	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA

Source: National institutes of statistics

NA: Non-Available                                                         

1- Definitions:                                                  

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.

2- Sources of data:                                                         

(1) Bahrain Open Data Portal, “Documents” section, Population 2021, https://www.data.gov.bh/en/ResourceCenter

Source: administrative records (Central Population Register)

(2) Statistics Service System, Kuwait Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI). Population, June 2021. https://www.paci.gov.kw/ (inaccessible from outside Kuwait as of 4 October 2022).

(3) National Centre for Statistical Information (NCSI). Monthly Statistical Bulletin, July 2021. https://www.ncsi.gov.om/Elibrary/Pages/LibraryContentView.aspx

(4) Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority, Population and Social Statistics 2021 (Total population estimates by sex). https://www.psa.gov.qa/en/statistics/Statistical%20Releases/Population/Population/2021/Population_social_1_2021_AE.pdf

Qatar’s statistics do not disclose the distribution of the resident population by nationality (nationals/non-nationals). No other, recent enough source was available, as of 4 October 2022, to derive an estimate of the national and non-national populations.

For estimates relevant to earlier years, please visit GLMM’s database:

https://gulfmigration.grc.net/glmm-database/demographic-and-economic-module/ .

(5) Saudi Arabia General Authority for Statistics, population estimates for mid-2021.

Population estimates are based on the results of the Population Censuses (1974, 1992, 2004, 2010), on the Demographic Research Bulletin 2016 (2013-2017), and on administrative records: vital statistics records (births and deaths records) and im/emigration records.

https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/43

https://www.stats.gov.sa/ar/43

(6) No figures of total (non-disaggregated) population available for 2021, as of 4 October 2022; Figures of UAE population disaggregated by nationality are unavailable in published sources.

For estimates relevant to earlier years, please visit GLMM’s database:

https://gulfmigration.grc.net/glmm-database/demographic-and-economic-module/.

Last date of access: 4 October 2022.                                                       

GLMM and GRC cannot guarantee that the link to access the source will not change; that the information will not be removed from the website it was obtained from; that no geo-blockages will be imposed; or that the information will not be available for any another reason.