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Kuwait’s population gets boost from foreigners
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Monday, March 31, 2008

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s population rose by 6.8 percent to 3.4 million in 2007, with foreigners now making up 69 percent of the total, an economic report said on Sunday, quoting official figures. The expatriate population in the Gulf state rose by 8.5 percent to 2.345 million, while the native population rose 3.1 percent to 1.055 million, or just 31 percent of the total, Al-Shall Economic Consultants said in a report based on figures from the Public Authority for Civil Information. The percentage of native Kuwaitis has been dropping every year as recruitment of foreign manpower, especially from Asia, has risen dramatically. Kuwait’s labor force increased by 6.7 percent in 2007 to 2.092 million, with foreigners representing a massive 84.5 percent of the total. The number of Kuwaitis in the workforce dropped by about five percent to 324,000, largely due to retirement, Al-Shall said. Over 255,000 of them or almost 79 percent are employed in government jobs, the report said. Native Kuwaitis account for more than 70 percent of public sector workers but just 3.9 percent of the 1.8 million in the private sector. – AFP

From the The Daily Star

And I think last night all of them were driving into Fahaheel around dinner time. Too much traffic now there. I won’t go to that area on a weekend again. It used to be OK early in the evening.