Manama: Indians top the list of non-Arab foreigners living in Kuwait, official statistics indicate.
According to Immigration General Administration figures, around 600,000 Indians lived in Kuwait on November 30, 2009.
A large number, 233,000 - 157,000 men and 76,000 women - worked as domestic helpers, while around 81,000 - 26,374 men and 54,708 women - were on dependent visas.
The Sri Lankan community is the second largest, with an estimated population of 84,000, followed by the Bangladeshi community with around 68,000, and the Filipino community with around 60,000 people.
The figures indicated that 48,000 Indonesian women and 129 men lived in Kuwait last year.
According to the statistics, the number of expatriates “on work, dependent, domestic, tourist, commercial, and government" visas has now decreased by 13 per cent. Officials attribute the lower figures to the government's campaign against illegal companies and marginal workers.
According to 2009 statistics about Kuwait's population and manpower, the total population was 3,441,813, including 1,087,000 Kuwaiti nationals and 2,354,261 foreigners.
According to New Delhi reports, around four million Indians live in the Gulf.