About 158,000 expats in Kuwait have been reportedly left the host country due to Covid-19. The figure is projected to increase by 1.5 million by the end of 2020, a local newspaper reported.
Citing Al Rai newspaper, Gulf News reported that foreigners in Kuwait account for nearly 3.4 million of the country’s 4.8 million population.
Al Rai reported that these expats had no options but to leave the country as they lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
One more reason why there’s an exodus is that the government has decided to replace foreign government workers with locals.
From March 16 until July 9, some 158,031 passengers, mainly from Egypt and India, have left the country aboard a total of 993 flights.
The figure was released by a ‘well-informed source’ at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
“The figure is anticipated to increase with reoperation of the airport (Kuwait) at the beginning of next month. The number of foreign residents leaving the country is expected to reach about 1.5 million by the end of the current year,” the source added.
