KUWAIT CITY, Sept 1: According to the latest Al-Shall report, domestic workers represent approximately 26.9 percent of the total expatriate workforce in Kuwait, totaling around 789,000 individuals by the end of the first quarter of 2024. This marks a 1.1 percent increase from the 780,000 domestic workers recorded at the same time in 2023. The domestic worker population is further divided into 423,000 females and 366,000 males.

The report highlights that among female domestic workers, the Philippines is the leading contributor with approximately 175,000 workers, although this figure has decreased from 205,000 at the end of the first quarter of 2023. For male domestic workers, India leads with around 248,000 individuals, slightly up from 247,000 in the previous year. India continues to dominate the domestic workforce statistics, accounting for 44.7 percent of the total number of domestic workers, while the Philippines follows with a 22.5 percent share. In total, four nationalities -- India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh -- comprise about 93.3 percent of the domestic workforce across ten countries.

Contributing
The remaining six nationalities collectively represent only 4.4 percent, with Nepal contributing the highest at 4.4 percent and Pakistan the lowest at 0.2 percent. Additionally, three African countries --Ethiopia, Benin, and Mali -- contribute to the domestic workforce, with shares of 0.9 percent, 0.7 percent, and 0.3 percent, respectively. When combining domestic workers with other categories of expatriate workers, Indian nationals emerge as the largest group, totaling about 889,000 workers (compared to 858,000 in the previous year), representing 30.3 percent of the total workforce, including Kuwaiti workers, and 35.9 percent of the expatriate workforce. They are followed by Egyptian workers, who total approximately 476,000 (down from 489,000), accounting for 16.2 percent of the total workforce and 19.2 percent of the expatriate workforce.

Kuwaiti workers, numbering around 458,000 (up from 445,000), represent 15.6 percent of the total workforce, though this figure could increase if military personnel are included. Data from the Public Authority for Civil Information shows a higher number of Kuwaiti workers at approximately 506,400 as of the end of June, which may account for military and unemployed individuals. Bangladesh is the fourth-largest contributor to the workforce, with about 266,000 workers (up from 246,000), making up 9.1 percent of the total workforce and 10.7 percent of the expatriate workforce. The Philippines ranks fifth, with a workforce of about 240,000 (down from 274,000), constituting 8.2 percent of the total workforce and 9.7 percent of the expatriate workforce.

Meanwhile, the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) revealed in its latest statistics that the total number of domestic labor recruitment offices licensed and registered at the authority has reached 448; while it received four license cancellation requests last month, reports Al-Anba daily. In addition, PAM issued seven new domestic labor recruitment licenses, renewed 59 similar licenses, lifted the suspension of 10 offices, suspended 12 offices, and the Department for Regulating the Recruitment of Domestic Workers registered 377 complaints. The authority has reaffirmed its commitment to resolve all issues in a manner that guarantees the rights of both parties to the dispute.