Working abroad ranking for expats in GCC by country 2023

Four countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were among the top twenty in the global Working Abroad Index ranking. The top three, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, also have the biggest economies in the council and rank among the highest in the world in expatriate quality of life. The ranking was conducted among 53 countries worldwide and is an aggregate of four factors. These factors include career prospects, salary and job security, work and leisure, and work culture and satisfaction. Kuwait was near the bottom of the list, both among GCC countries and globally, ranking 48th. 

Dependency on foreign workforce

The share of expatriate workers in the GCC  outweighs that of local workers, making the region heavily reliant on foreign workers. A high portion of the expat workers in the GCC come from Asia and work in both skilled and unskilled professions. These foreign workers not only supplement the local economy, but also send billions of U.S. dollars back each year in remittances to their home countries. Additionally, many international companies, foreign universities, research institutions, as well as domestically grown tech startups are run by foreign nationals.

Policy reforms for expat working conditions

Recent initiatives and policy changes have been introduced in the council to improve working conditions for foreign workers. These include addressing long-standing gaps in worker rights through Saudi Arabia’s Workers Wage Protection System, following in the footsteps of the UAE and Qatar, which have similar systems in place. Additionally, some countries, like the UAE, have announced various new visa options, which are aimed at offering more flexibility to expatriates who want to live and settle in the country. An example of this is the Golden Visa, which is valid for periods of ten years, or the recent rollout of a freelance visa for self-employed entrepreneurs similar to that offered by many European countries. On the other end, Saudi Arabia’s workforce localization initiatives have been taking steps to train their own citizens and encourage both men and women to play a more active role in the economy.