Manama: The number of Asians living in Kuwait surpassed Kuwaiti nationals at the end of 2013, statistics show.
Kuwaitis represent 31.3 per cent of the total population, substantially fewer than the 37.8 per cent of expatriates from Asian countries that make up slightly less than one third of the total population.
By December 31, 2013, Kuwait was home to 3,965,022 people, nationals and foreigners, up by 2.63 per cent over the 2012 figures when 3,824,000 lived in the northern Arabian Gulf state.
The number of Kuwaitis was 1,242,490, up from 1,211,906 in 2012, marking an increase of 30,584 Kuwaitis, a 2.4 per cent rate, local daily Al Watan reported on Wednesday.
Kuwaiti women outnumbered men by a slight difference. There were 631,947 Kuwaiti women representing 50.087 per cent of the native population compared with 610,543 males who made up 49.13 per cent.
The number of foreigners was, by the end of the year, 2,722,532 — representing 68.7 per cent of the total population. The Asian communities dominate with 1,499,929 people. The number of men was 1,026,795, more than double of the women with a figure of 473,134.
Arab communities made up 27.9 per cent of the foreign population with 1,106,605 Arabs, including 391,578 women and 715,027 men.
According to the statistics, Kuwait is home to 76,698 Africans, mainly women with 68,346, while men are 8,352.
European men slightly outnumber women, 7,590 to 7,051. The number of expatriates from North America was 21,512, including 8,681 women and 12,840 men. There were 1,706 Australians, 777 women and 929 men, living in Kuwait by the end of the year. Expatriates from South America had the lowest figure with 1,431 people, made up of 807 men and 625 women.
