Top News

Kuwait City: Indian nationals remained the largest expat workforce in Kuwait in 2025, with 578,900 workers, according to the latest Labour Market Information System report, which showed the country’s total workforce exceeded 3.04 million by the end of December.

The workforce grew by about 97,400 employees compared with 2024, marking annual growth of 3.3 per cent.

Kuwaiti nationals accounted for 441,200 workers, with nearly 76 per cent employed in the public sector, reaffirming the government’s position as the country’s main employer of citizens, the Kuwait Times reported.

The expat workforce increased to around 1.83 million. However, its share of total employment fell slightly to 65.9 per cent from 66.7 per cent a year earlier.

Private sector employs majority of workers

The private sector remained Kuwait’s largest employer, accounting for 58.8 per cent of the workforce, or nearly 1.79 million employees.

The household sector represented 25.4 per cent of total employment, while government institutions accounted for 15.8 per cent.

Kuwaiti nationals comprised just 4.1 per cent of private sector employees, reflecting the sector’s continued dependence on expatriate labour.

Female employment remains higher among Kuwaitis

Women continued to outnumber men in the national workforce, with 251,300 female employees compared with 189,900 male workers.

Female participation remained highest in the education and healthcare sectors, accounting for nearly 77 per cent of employees in the Ministry of Education and 63.4 per cent in the Ministry of Health.

Men continued to dominate technical and operational occupations, particularly in state-owned oil, transport and port companies, where they accounted for almost 88 per cent of employees. The Ministry of Electricity and Water also recorded a predominantly male workforce.

Workforce characteristics

More than half of Kuwaiti workers held university degrees or higher qualifications, compared with 14.6 per cent of expat employees.

Government ministries employed around 367,700 people, including 278,100 Kuwaitis and 89,600 expats. Government agencies with attached budgets employed about 36,800 workers, while fully state-owned companies employed approximately 33,400 people.

Financial and insurance activities remained the leading employer of Kuwaiti nationals, followed by wholesale and retail trade and professional and scientific activities.

Expat workers were primarily employed in wholesale and retail trade, construction, and accommodation and food services.

Expatriate workforce by nationality

Indian nationals accounted for 25.5 per cent of Kuwait’s labour force excluding domestic workers, maintaining the largest share among foreign workers.

Egypt ranked second with 467,900 workers, followed by Bangladesh, Nepal, Syria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Jordan.

Domestic worker sector

The domestic worker sector employed more than 773,000 people, representing nearly 30 per cent of Kuwait’s workforce.

Women accounted for 56.8 per cent of domestic workers.

Indian nationals formed the largest group with 310,600 workers, followed by Sri Lankans with 137,500 and Filipinos with 134,100.

The report highlights Kuwait’s continued reliance on expat workers while indicating gradual changes in the labour market and ongoing efforts to encourage greater participation of Kuwaiti nationals in private sector employment.