New Delhi: In response to an RTI filed by a Nagpur-based banker, Abhay Kolarkar, the Ministry of External Affairs has stated that 66% of NRIs live in Gulf Countries.
The banker filed for this information to estimate the number of NRIs affected by a possible crisis, humanitarian issue, or war on foreign soil. As of March 2022, 88.8 lakh NRIs reside in six Gulf countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain.
The Right to Information (RTI) was filed a few months back and the Ministry's reply was received towards the end of June.
UAE tops the list with the most number of Non-Resident Indians, with 34.1 lakhs, followed by Saudi Arabia with 25.9 lakhs, 10.2 lakhs in Kuwait, 7.7 lakhs in Oman, 7.4 lakhs in Qatar, and 3.2 lakhs in Bahrain.
The RTI reply also reveals that there are 12.8 lakh NRIs in the US, 3.5 lakhs in the UK, 2.4 lakhs in Australia, 2.2 lakhs in Malaysia, and 1.7 lakhs in Canada.
In terms of 'People of Origin (PIO)', that is, anyone of Indian ancestry presently holding a foreign passport or nationality, the US ranks highest with 31 lakhs PIOs. The Gulf countries, however, have minimal PIOs. Following the United States, there are 27.6 lakhs PIOs in Malaysia, 20 lakhs in Myanmar, 16 lakhs in Sri Lanka, and 15.1 lakhs in Canada.