Expats become the majority in Bahrain



Figures from an official census have revealed that foreign expatriates now make up the majority of all people in Bahrain, eclipsing the nation's native residents.

The actual population of Bahrain, the smallest of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has practically doubled in size in the last nine years, now standing at a figure of 1.234 million compared to 2001's figure of 650,000.

The official expat to native split is 666,172 expats to 568,424 Bahraini natives.

The report itself stated: “Growth in the Bahraini population stood at 7.3 per cent during 2001-2010 while that in the expatriate population stood at 11.8 per cent”

Fellow gulf state Saudi Arabia has also reported increased numbers of foreign expats. Over there expats have gone up by 2 million in the last six years. However there is no danger of expats becoming the dominant citizen as they are currently outnumbered by 18.70 million to 8.429 million.

Whilst expat workers have long been a feature of the Gulf some natives worry that their national identity is being diluted by the influx of foreigners.