Kuwait PM calls for 1.4 million expats to be deported

Published February 23rd, 2014 - 07:47 GMT
Kuwait’s expatriate community makes up a majority of the oil-rich country’s population of around 4 million – while the indigenous community stands at just 31.3 percent. [ Arabian Gazette]
Kuwait’s expatriate community makes up a majority of the oil-rich country’s population of around 4 million – while the indigenous community stands at just 31.3 percent. [ Arabian Gazette]

A Kuwaiti lawmaker has called for the deportation of 280,000 expatriates per year for the next five years to help address the imbalanced demographic in the country.

“There is a critical need to find solutions for the demographic situation in Kuwait,” MP Dr Khalil Abdullah said in remarks published by local daily Al Rai on Sunday.

“We need to have a Kuwaiti population that is at least equal to the number of foreigners who live in the country.

“Since we have 2.5 million expatriates, we need to bring the number down to 1.1 million in the next five years, which means we need to reduce their numbers by 280,000 every year.”

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