RIYADH, Nov 2: Fifty-two per cent of the employees working in the private sector in Kuwait are from the subcontinent, the Kuwaiti social affairs and labour minister Faisal Al-Hajji told a local daily. Of these, Indians number 184,200, making it the largest foreign community employed by Kuwait’s private sector.

Egyptians come second with 183,000 workers while Bangladeshis total 116,000. Al-Hajji said the total number of foreigners employed in the private sector reached 725,000 on June 30 this year.

Sixty-four thousand Pakistanis are also employed in Kuwait’s private sector, the minister added. Until some time back, Pakistanis were one of the largest expatriate work force in Kuwait, however, the situation changed when Kuwait clamped a ban on Pakistani visas due to drug-related problems. The ban was ultimately lifted recently after constant persuasion by the Pakistani side.

Other nationalities include 42,300 Syrians and 42,000 from Iran, in addition to 20,200 from the Philippines, 15,800 Lebanese, 11,000 from Sri Lanka and 10,500 Jordanians.

The figures does not include foreigners working in the public sector, estimated at 100,000 and some 300,000 domestic workers mostly from India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Nor does it include hundreds of thousands of family members accompanying their sponsors.

According to official figures released by the Planning Ministry, the foreign population of Kuwait rose 5.8 per cent in 2002 to reach the 1.5 million mark for the first time in 12 years.The report said that Kuwait’s total population at the end of last year reached 2.42 million.