Kuwait City: Foreigners working in the Gulf Arab states more than $100 billion (Dh367 billion) in remittances to their home countries last year, an economic report showed on Tuesday.
The figure was twice as high as remittances in 2010, an indication of strong growth, the head of economic research at Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz), Raghu Mandagoathur, said in the report.
Around 25 million expats live in the Gulf Cooperation Council states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — equal to the native population.
The remittances are estimated at 6.2 per cent of the combined GDP of the six GCC states of $1.6 trillion, the report said, citing IMF and World Bank figures.
In comparison, foreigners in the US and Britain sent home just 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent of GDP, respectively, it said.
Saudi Arabia topped the list with its estimated 10 million expats sending home $44 billion, followed by UAE with $29 billion.
Remittances from Kuwait and Qatar were $12 billion and $9.5 billion, respectively, while smaller transfers were made out of Oman and Bahrain, the report said.
