Foreign Labor in the Arab Gulf Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Foreign Labor in the Arab Gulf - Essay Example Their numbers only increased over the years. The capital rich countries possessed the resources, and labor rich countries possessed the needed skilled workers. Despite the economic benefits, the largest disadvantage has been the overwhelming share of foreign labor on the labor markets of GCC, retarding the development of indigenous labor. Presence of foreign labor increased to dramatic levels in some Gulf countries. Natives of Kuwait, Qatar and UAE have become minorities as a result of the increase in the number of foreigners in their countries (Khalaf & Alkobaisi, 1999, p.272). UAE is the extreme case. it was estimated in the 1990’s that â€Å"nationals constituted only 10-20% of the total population (Heard-Bey, 1997), and only 10% participation in the total labour force (Al-Mansour, 1996)† (Khalaf & Alkobaisi, 1999, p.272). According to Kapiszewski (2006), â€Å"[t]he population in the current GCC states has grown more than eight times during 50 years; to be exact, from 4 million in 1950 to 40 million in 2006† (p.2). The only GCC countries that managed to retain low levels of foreign labor are Oman and Saudi Arabia, at 20 and 27 percent respectively (Kapiszewski, 2006, p.2). The flow has been from labor rich to capital rich countries. Oil rich countries have low population levels. On the other hand, oil poor countries in the region have large populations. Such countries in the 1970’s were Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Jordan and Syria (â€Å"Migrant Workers,†1982, p. 530 – 31). Countries such as Egypt had more experienced labor than countries such as Kuwait, but the latter experienced labor demand (â€Å"Migrant Workers,†1982, p. 530 – 31). As a result, labor supply from other countries increased in the oil rich countries. In 1975, Saudi Arabia hosted 773,400 migrant workers, Libya 332,400, the UAE 251,500, and Kuwait 208,000 (â€Å"Migrant Workers,†1982, p. 530 – 31). In 2004, there were 6,144,236 foreign migrants in Saudi Arabia, then 1, 707,000 in Kuwait and