Bangladeshis dominate foreign labour in Oman

Nearly 1.8 million foreigners work in Oman and more than a third of them are from Bangladesh, a major source of labour for oil-rich Gulf nations, according to official data.

Around 637,000 Bangladeshis work in the sultanate, accounting for nearly 35 percent of the total expatriate labour force, reports the April bulletin of the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NSCI).

Construction employs around 441,000 expatriates, nearly a quarter of the total foreign workers in the sultanate, the NSCI report showed.

The bulk of the Asian expatriates in the country, which has a population of 4.6 million, work in construction, farming, fishing and industry. 

Indian nationals were the second largest expatriate workforce at the end of 2024, totalling around 506,000. They were followed by Pakistanis at 317,000.

Other foreign workers include around 46,000 from Egypt, 45,000 from the Philippines, 33,000 from Myanmar, 24,000 from Sri Lanka, and 23,000 from Sudan.

The report showed expatriate workers in Oman are concentrated in the private sector.

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In 2021 Sultan Haitham ordered a grant of 200 rials ($500) a month to the private sector for every Omani job seeker employed during the first year of employment, as an incentive for companies to take on local graduates.

However at the end of 2024 the number of foreign workers in the private sector stood at around 1.42 million while there were only around 42,000 in the public sector.