More than 83,000 expatriates left Kuwait in 2020

Around 83,574 expatriates have left Kuwait permanently within three months, according to a report on the labour market in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020 revealed by Kuwait's Al-Qabas newspaper. The total number of expats in the labour market has decreased to 1.5 million, the news report stated on Sunday.

The report confirmed that between September and December 2020, about 2,144 expatriate contracts in various government agencies were terminated. The current stats show that expats in government agencies account to not more than 29 per cent, mainly in the Education and Health ministries, of the total number registered in the government sector, which is 95,173.

The country has recorded a significant increase in the number of locals in various business sectors, to 4,248, totalling to 400,909 employees in the Q3. The domestic sector witnessed a decline in the number of domestic workers by about 7,385 within three months.

Last September a proposal submitted in the parliament articulated that the number of expatriates working in a particular position should not exceed 20 per cent in order to increase employment opportunities for the nationals. According to Al-Qabas, the country's move of lessening the influx of migrant workers has made changes in the demographics by giving more opportunities to the Kuwaitis.