KUWAIT: Household workers account for around 25.6 percent of Kuwait’s total expatriate labor force. Their number reached approximately 783.9 thousand workers as of the end of Q1 2026, according to the CSB tables, marking an increase of 5.2 percent (745.1 thousand workers at the end of Q1 2025). This workforce is distributed between about 450.9 thousand females and 333 thousand males.
The Philippines leads in female household labor with around 133.2 thousand workers (132.1 thousand at the end of Q1 2025), while Indian nationals lead among male household workers with around 206.1 thousand workers (213 thousand at the end of Q1 2025). India ranks first in total household labor (both genders), accounting for 39.1 percent of total household workers, followed by Sri Lanka at 17.4 percent.
Overall, four nationalities – India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Bangladesh – account for around 86.1 percent of total household labor across 10 nationalities. Among the remaining six, Nepal ranks highest at 8.0 percent, while Sudan ranks lowest at 0.2 percent. Among the ten labor-exporting countries, four are African nations: Ethiopia leads with a share of 2.8 percent of total household labor, followed by Benin at 1.7 percent, Mali at 0.3 percent and Sudan at 0.2 percent, as noted.
When household labor figures are combined with other expatriate labor categories by nationality, the total number of Indian workers reached around 887.1 thousand (883.8 thousand at the end of Q1 2025). Indians represent 28.9 percent of the total labor force, including Kuwaiti workers, and around 33.7 percent of the expatriate labor force, ranking first in both cases.
Egyptian labor ranks second with a total of around 468.4 thousand workers (471.8 thousand at the end of Q1 2025), representing 15.3 percent of the total labor force and around 17.8 percent of expatriate labor. Kuwaiti workers rank third at around 435.6 thousand (450.2 thousand at the end of Q1 2025), accounting for 14.2 percent of the total labor force.
This share may be higher if the official statistics included military personnel. According to PACI data, total Kuwaiti employment reached around 495.7 thousand workers by the end of H1 2026, a figure that differs from CSB estimates. The discrepancy remains unexplained unless the higher figure includes military personnel and the unemployed. Bangladesh ranks fourth with around 303 thousand workers (278.5 thousand at the end of Q1 2025), representing 9.9 percent of the total labor force and around 11.5 percent of expatriate labor. The Philippines ranks fifth with around 196.2 thousand workers (194.1 thousand at the end of Q1 2025), accounting for 6.4 percent of the total labor force and around 7.5 percent of expatriate labor.
