Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in Saudi Arabia ar, الهنود في السعودية, translit=al-Hunūd fī as-Saʿūdīyah, lit=) are the largest community of expatriates in the country, most of them coming from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala,

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and most recently, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Overview

Indians as migrant workers first began to arrive in modern-day Saudi Arabia in relatively small number from the British Raj soon after the discovery of oil in 1938, but had their migration skyrocketed exponentially after the

1973 energy crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

and subsequent

oil boom An oil boom is a period of large inflow of income as a result of high global oil prices or large oil production in an economy. Generally, this short period initially brings economic benefits, in terms of increased GDP growth, but might later lead ...

. However, migration to Saudi Arabia dropped dramatically after reaching its peak in 2014 due to the introduction of

Nitaqat Saudization ( ar, السعودة), officially known as Saudi nationalization scheme, or Nitaqat ( ar, النطاقات), is the newest policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia implemented by its Ministry of Labor and Social Development, whereby Sa ...

scheme in 2011, acceleration of

2010s oil glut The 2010s oil glut is a significant surplus of crude oil that started in 2014–2015 and accelerated in 2016, with multiple causes. They include general oversupply as unconventional US and Canadian tight oil (shale oil) production reached crit ...

by early 2016 and the launch of

Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 ( ar, رؤية السعودية ٢٠٣٠ ''ruʾyah al-suʿūdiyah'') is a strategic framework to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, in ...

History

India and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to manage and organize the recruitment of domestic workers in January 2014. Between then and April 2016, 500,000 Indians moved to Saudi Arabia for employment. The agreement includes a provision which stipulates that sponsors must pay a guarantee of US $2,500 for each Indian worker they recruit.

Demographics

The following table shows the estimated population of Indians in Saudi Arabia since 1975.

Education

Indian curriculum schools in Saudi Arabia include:

Dammam

International Indian School, Dammam International Indian School Dammam (IISD) (formerly Indian Embassy School Dammam) is an English-medium K-12 Indian school in Saudi Arabia led by Mahenaz Farid. It is the largest school in the MENA region by number of students. Most of its 14000+ s ...

Riyadh

International Indian School, Riyadh International Indian School Riyadh (), formerly the Embassy of India School, Riyadh is a K–12 English-medium community-based foreign school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, run by the Indian embassy. Established in 1982 with assistance from then In ...

* New Middle East International School, Riyadh * International Indian Public School, Riyadh * Al-Yasmin International School, Riyadh * Al Alia International Indian School * Yara International School

Jeddah

* Talal International School,

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

* International Indian School Jeddah

Buraidah

* International Indian School Buraidah

Jubail

* International Indian School, Al-Jubail

Notable Indian Saudi Arabians

* Abdulbasit Hindi, Saudi Arabian footballer of distant Indian origin *Awaiz Patni, Group CFO - Bugshan Investment

References

Ethnic groups in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia India–Saudi Arabia relations Indian diaspora Ethnic groups in the Middle East {{Saudi Arabia-stub