Kuwait: Rising Population of Bachelors and Migration of Expat Families Cause of Concern
Recent statistics revealed that the number of single expatriates in the country has increased to about 1.2 million of various nationalities. They constitute about 36.4 per cent of the total number of residents. The statistics also revealed an increase in the migration of expatriate families, which has contributed to transforming Kuwait into a “community of singles”, it was reported.
According to reliable sources, some problems, crimes and wrong behaviours are widespread in bachelor societies. The suspension of the issuance of family or visit visas for family members has dispersed expatriate families. The migration of expatriate families to their countries and the survival of the head of the family alone in Kuwait have negative repercussions not only on expatriates but on Kuwaiti society in general.
At a time when there is an increasing need to accelerate steps to adjust the demographics, two reports issued by the Ministry of Interior and the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) revealed an increase in the number of families who left Kuwait permanently during the past months. The total number of family visas that were cancelled in the past four years reached 100,000. The annual departure rate of family members ranges between 11,000 and 15,000 expatriates annually. About 64,000 family members left Kuwait permanently during the COVID-19 crisis.
More than a million expatriates live collectively in crowded accommodations, particularly eight nationalities – Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Egypt, India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Syria. It was reported that 53 per cent of the Bangladeshi community living together, followed by 52 per cent of Pakistani and Nepalese, and 50 per cent of Egyptians, compared to 33 per cent of the Indian community, 17 per cent of the Filipinos, 10 per cent of the Sri Lankans, and 7 per cent of the Syrians.
According to the PACI report, the Farwaniya Governorate tops in the total number of bachelors, with a total of 356,000 bachelors, followed by the governorates of Hawally, Ahmadi, Jahra, Capital, and Mubarak Al-Kabeer in order.
The number of non-Kuwaiti bachelors who are born in Kuwait is 145,000, and the number of non-Kuwaiti bachelors who came from outside is about 984,000. About 32 per cent of bachelors do not possess any kind of educational certificate. They are classified in the category of “reading and writing”, and they are 410,000 in number. This is followed by 249,000 bachelors who hold an intermediate certificate.
There are more bachelors in the private sector than in other sectors, with a total of 611,000 bachelors, followed by 302,000 domestic workers, 128,000 students, and 22,000 working in the government sector.
In addition, sources warned of the accumulation of large numbers of bachelors in accommodations that lack the minimum security and safety requirements. They indicated that some expatriates live in a crowded manner with 6 individuals in a single room, especially in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Mahboula, Khaitan, and Farwaniya areas.
