Year: 2020

Expelling expatriates may not be the answer to Kuwait’s deep economic malaise October 31, 2020   Over the past 15 years the population of Kuwait has more than doubled from 2.2 million in 2005 to 4.8 million at the start of 2020. During this period, the number of citizens grew by 63 percent, from 860,000 to 1.4 million, while expatriates surged by 162 percent, from 1.3 million to 3.4 million. The skewed population growth is certainly a cause for concern to the state, but is expelling expatriates the answer? On 20 October, in its one-day supplementary fifth session for the 15th legislative term, the parliament passed a series of laws, including one on reducing the number of expatriates in the country. Expatriates, who currently form an overwhelming 70 percent of Kuwait’s total population of 4.8 million, are understandably concerned. The new law tasks the government with drawing up policies and plans to restructure the country’s lopsided demographic str…