Kuwait spent KD 784 million on domestic workers

The spending on the domestic workers in Kuwait amounted to about KD 784 million ($ 2.6 billion) in the year 2021, reports Al-Anba daily.

The average monthly wage for laborers of all nationalities in the country can be estimated at KD 110 per month. The number of domestic workers in Kuwait reached 593,640 as of the end of 2021. This makes the average value of monthly spending on that sector at about KD 65.3 million ($215 million), the newspaper reported citing sources familiar with the domestic labour sector in Kuwait.

The figures indicate that 94 percent of spending on domestic workers in Kuwait, amounting to KD 734.56 million, was directed towards four main nationalities, numbering at about 556,480 workers. They are:

1. Indians – Indian domestic workers topped the list by accounting for about 47 percent of spending
in that sector, which was KD 369 million ($1.2 billion) for about 279,590 workers, including KD
258.5 million for male domestic workers and KD 110.5 million for female domestic workers, in the
past year.

2. Filipinos – They came in second place by accounting for about 23 percent of the total spending
in the domestic labor sector, which was KD 178.7 million ($ 588 million) for 135,430 domestic
workers, including KD 1 million for male domestic workers and the rest for female domestic
workers, during the past year.

3. Bangladeshis – They account for 13 percent of the total expenditure of citizens on the domestic
labor sector, thereby coming in third place with expenditures amounting to KD 101.4 million
annually ($ 333.5 million), and a monthly expenditure of KD 8.5 million. Bangladeshi men
account for the lion’s share of that amount, which is KD 100.29 million annually for 75,980
domestic workers, and KD 1.13 million for female workers, with about 858 domestic workers.

4. Sri Lankans – They came fourth by accounting for 11 percent of the volume of spending on
domestic workers in the country at KD 85.28 million annually ($ 280.5 million), at a rate of KD 7.1
million per month. Sri Lankans account for the largest percentage of monthly spending at KD
66.6 million for 50,460 domestic workers.