There are a large number of expatriates in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, with most residing in the capital Kuwait City.

Expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s are primarily attracted by the employment opportunities in Kuwait. Kuwaiti nationals account for 31% of Kuwait's total population.

Indians

The Indian community in Kuwait includes Indian expats (mostly hailing from the southern states of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

), as well as Kuwaiti citizens of Indian origin. According to the Indian ministry of external affairs, there are around 1,020,000 Indians as on 31 December 2020, constituting the largest expatriate community in Kuwait.Kuwaitstay.com - Indians in Kuwait
/ref> There are 17 Indian schools in Kuwait affiliated to the

Central Board of Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...

(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 666,000 workers (December 2020).

Pakistanis

The population of Pakistanis in Kuwait is around 100,000 (December 2020). The former Pakistani '' chargé d'affaires'' in Kuwait has given a higher estimate of 150,000 in 2009. There are many Pakistani schools in Kuwait.

Syrians

There are around 161,000 Syrian expats in Kuwait. Syrians were among the first

educated Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

work force in Kuwait, the first Syrian expats immigrated to Kuwait in the 1960s.

Iranians

In 2012, there were 45,000 Iranian expats according to the population census. Iranians are heavily concentrated in the Bneid al-Gar suburb of Kuwait City. Most Iranians are employed in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

. In 2011, there were 42,795 Iranians in Kuwait; 699 were employed in the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

, 24,684 in the private sector and 16,577 were on dependent visas. There are Iranian schools in Kuwait, all privately funded and located in the suburbs of Kuwait City, for example the Iranian School of Kuwait.

Palestinians

There are 70,000 Palestinian expats in Kuwait.

Filipinos

There are roughly 241,000 (as of December 2020) Filipinos in Kuwait. Most are migrant workers,Kuwait grants amnesty to illegal aliens
and approximately 60% of Filipinos in Kuwait are employed as domestic workers. In 2011, Kuwait was the sixth-largest destination of

Overseas Filipino Workers Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million be ...

, 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 The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

being remitted in 2009. Nine Filipino banks have

correspondent account A correspondent account is an account (often called a nostro or vostro account) established by a banking institution to receive deposits from, make payments on behalf of, or handle other financial transactions for another financial institution. Co ...

s with banks in Kuwait to allow for remittance transfers. There is a Filipino Worker's Resource Center (FWRC) located in

Jabriya Jabriya ( ar, الجابرية) is in an area in Hawalli Governorate in Kuwait City, Kuwait. It is a large, mainly residential area that borders Surra, Hawalli, Salmiya and Bayan. Jabriya has seen an increase of commercial activities in recent y ...

, and it provides refuge for Filipino workers in Kuwait who have " xperiencedvarious forms of maltreatment from their employers such as fatigue, non-payment of salaries," as well as "lack of food ndphysical, verbal and sexual abuse". Through assistance from the FWRC, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, the

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) was an agency of the Government of the Philippines responsible for opening the benefits of the overseas employment program of the Philippines. It is the main government agency assigned to ...

, and Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration, hundreds of Filipinos in Kuwait have been repatriated to the Philippines due to these issues. Kuwait had the largest number of voters registered under the

Overseas Absentee Voting Act The Overseas Absentee Voting Act, officially designated as Republic Act No. 9189, is a Philippine law that provides an absentee voting system for Filipino citizens residing or working outside of the Philippines who are qualified voters. It was en ...

eligible to vote in the

2013 Philippine general election A general election was held in the Philippines on May 13, 2013. It was a midterm election—the officials elected will be sworn in on June 30, 2013, midway through President Benigno Aquino III's term of office. Being elected are 12 senators ( ...

Turks

There are 4,000 Turkish expats in Kuwait. Most Turks work as

barbers A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

, engineers, businessmen and doctors.

References

{{Immigration to Kuwait