India's Diaspora in West Asia
Scale and Vulnerability
India has the world's largest diaspora (approximately 32 million people as of 2024, per the Ministry of External Affairs). The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman — collectively host approximately 9 million Indian nationals, making the Gulf the single largest concentration of the Indian diaspora.
These workers are primarily employed in construction, hospitality, healthcare, and domestic services. The Gulf also sends back the largest share of India's annual remittances: India is the world's top remittance recipient, receiving over US$120 billion in 2023, with the Gulf region accounting for over 35–40% of total inflows. A sustained Gulf crisis thus threatens both Indian nationals' safety and a major source of India's foreign exchange earnings.
- India's overseas diaspora: ~32 million (largest in the world as of 2024)
- Indian nationals in GCC countries: ~9 million (Saudi Arabia ~2.4M, UAE ~3.5M, Kuwait ~1M, Qatar ~750K, Bahrain ~350K, Oman ~700K)
- India's remittances 2023: US$125 billion (world's largest recipient)
- Gulf share of remittances: estimated 35–40% of total annual inflows
- Remittance-to-GDP ratio: approximately 3.4% of India's GDP
- Kerala, UP, Rajasthan, AP, Tamil Nadu: states with highest Gulf migrant populations
● Tracked since March 07, 2026 · last seen April 20, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes