Expatriates in Kuwait

There are a large number of expatriates in Kuwait, with most residing in Kuwait City. Expatriates are primarily attracted by the employment opportunities in Kuwait. There are more than 125 nationalities residing in Kuwait.

Indians

The Indian community in Kuwait includes Indian expats (mostly hailing from the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu), as well as Kuwaiti citizens of Indian origin. According to the Indian ministry of external affairs, there are around 681,288 Indians as on 1 January 2013,^[1] constituting the largest expatriate community in Kuwait.^[2]

There are 17 Indian schools in Kuwait affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). There were 164 Indian community Associations earlier registered with the Indian Embassy of Kuwait. Following introduction of a re-registration requirement, 106 of these Indian community Associations have once again registered with the Embassy and the number of registered Associations is growing at a steady pace.

Egyptians

Egyptians are the second largest expat community in Kuwait, numbering more than 550,000 workers.

Pakistanis

The population of Pakistanis in Kuwait is around 130,000. The former Pakistani chargé d'affaires in Kuwait has given a higher estimate of 150,000 in 2009.^[3] There are many Pakistani schools in Kuwait.

Syrians

There are around 150,000 Syrian expats in Kuwait. Syrians were among the first engineers and doctors in Kuwait, the first Syrian expats migrated to Kuwait in the 1940s.

Iranians

In 2012, there were 45,000 Iranian expats according to the population census.^[4] Iranians are heavily concentrated in the Bneid al-Gar suburb of Kuwait City. Most Iranians are employed in the private sector.^[5] In 2011, there were 42,795 Iranians in Kuwait; 699 were employed in the public sector, 24,684 in the private sector and 16,577 were on dependent visas.^[5] The number of ethnic Persian kuwaities who have been living in kuwait for generations excedes more than 20% of the population.

There are Iranian schools in Kuwait, all privately funded and located in the suburbs of Kuwait City,^[6] for example the Iranian School of Kuwait.

Palestinians

There are 70,000 Palestinian expats in Kuwait.

Filipinos

There are roughly 180,000 Filipinos in Kuwait. Most are migrant workers,^[7] and approximately 60% of Filipinos in Kuwait are employed as domestic workers.

In 2011, Kuwait was the sixth-largest destination of Overseas Filipino Workers, with 65,000 hired or rehired in the nation in 2011, and accordingly Kuwait has been an important source of remittances back to the Philippines, with over $105 million USD being remitted in 2009.^[8][9] Nine Filipino banks have correspondent accounts with banks in Kuwait to allow for remittance transfers.^[10]

There is a Filipino Worker's Resource Center (FWRC) located in Jabriya, and it provides refuge for Filipino workers in Kuwait who have "[experienced] various forms of maltreatment from their employers such as fatigue, non-payment of salaries,"^[11] as well as "lack of food [and] physical, verbal and sexual abuse".^[12] Through assistance from the FWRC, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, and Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration, hundreds of Filipinos in Kuwait have been repatriated to the Philippines due to these issues.^[12][13]

Kuwait had the largest number of voters registered under the Overseas Absentee Voting Act eligible to vote in the 2013 Philippine general election.^[14]

Turks

There are 4,000 Turkish expats in Kuwait.^[15] Most Turks work as barbers, engineers, businessmen and doctors. Turkish expats have a large information-sharing site known as Bilgi Kuveyt.^[16]

See also

• Demographics of Kuwait

References

Immigration to Kuwait From Asia Armenians Filipinos Indians Iranians Koreans Lebanese Nepalis Pakistanis Syrians Turks From elsewhere Americans Australians Canadians