The next seven years will see a significant drop in the number of expats living in the country when the Kuwaiti government finally executes its plan to balance the demographics of its residents as shared in a report by the Kuwait Times.
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The government’s legal body fatwa and legislative department are already soliciting suggestions from other government agencies and departments regarding the formulation of a national committee for the regulation of the country’s demographic structure.
Gov’t Lays out Plans to Cut Down Number of Expats by Millions by 2025
With the establishment of a national committee to regulate the country’s demographic structure, the country will have a population comprised of 50 percent Kuwaitis and expats shall not exceed this number.
At present, there are about 3.244 million expats living in the country whereas Kuwaitis are somewhere around 1.4 million in total based on the data shared by the Public Authority for Civil Authority (PACI).
Based on these figures, around 1.7 million expats are expected to exit the country within the next seven years, to meet the prescribed number of expats equivalent to their Kuwaiti counterparts at 1.5 million for this period.
Furthermore, the national committee will also reduce the number of foreign communities in the state down to 25 percent only of the total number of Kuwaiti population.
Once the adjustment has been enacted, expat communities like Indians (600,000) and Egyptians (300,000) will have been condensed to meet the government’s target.
Of note, the cuts will not in any way affect the number of foreign domestic helpers in the country, which currently stands at 650,000.
As part of its demographic regulation scheme, the government is also looking to cease issuing permits to expats with university degrees looking for employment unless they meet the prescribed grade requirement by the government.