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FACTBOX-In the Gulf, a public job beats a private one

Published 10/21/2010, 09:14 AM
Updated 10/21/2010, 09:16 AM
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DUBAI, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Every Gulf Cooperation Council country has implemented a job nationalisation programme to try to increase the representation of its population in the private sector. So far, though, these projects have largely been unsuccessful.

SAUDI ARABIA

* Total population: 25.4 million, though some western diplomats think the real figure is higher

* Percent of population that is Saudi: 73 percent

* Saudi participation in private sector: 10 percent (around 0.8 million Saudis versus 6.2 million expatriates)

* Unemployment rate: officially 10.5 percent, but analysts and diplomats in the country suspect the real rate is higher

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES * Total population: 4.9 million

* Percent of population that is Emirati: 10-15 percent. Economists tend to favour the lower end of the range

* Emirati participation in the private sector: 1 percent

* Unemployment rate: 23 percent. The government says most people are unemployed by choice, and only 2.3 percent actively seek work

KUWAIT

* Total population: 2.9 million

* Percent of population that is Kuwaiti: About 30 percent

* Kuwaiti participation in the private sector: 20 percent

* Unemployment rate: 3.1 percent. About 12,000 Kuwaitis are waiting for government jobs

QATAR

* Total population: 1.7 million

* Percent of population that is Qatari: About 15 percent

* Qatari participation in the private sector: Male: 8 percent; Female: 6.9 percent

* Unemployment rate: 0.3 percent

OMAN

* Total population: 2.9 million

* Percent of population that is Omani: 67 percent

* Omani participation in the private sector: 19 percent

(Over a million Omanis are not registered as private-sector and are self-employed in retail, agricultural and cottage industries where they have unlicensed businesses in crafts such as pottery, weaving, and silvercraft)

* Unemployment rate: No official rate; a CIA estimate from 2004 put the rate then at around 15 percent

BAHRAIN

* Total population: 1.3 million

* Percent of population that is Bahraini: about 50 percent

* Bahraini participation in the private sector: 18 percent

* Unemployment rate: 15 percent according to a CIA estimate from 2005. There are no reliable government statistics but analysts say unemployment is particularly high among Bahraini youth

(Sources: Saudi Arabia: government census (1); government statistics (2, 3); government estimates (4); United Arab Emirates: IMF and government reports (1); government and analyst estimates (2, 3); government statistics (4); Kuwait: World Bank (1); International Organisation for Migration (2); government statistics (3, 4) Qatar: government estimates (1, 2); government statistics (3, 4); Oman: government estimates (1); government statistics (2, 3); CIA (4); Bahrain: government estimates (1, 2); Bahrain Central Bank (3); CIA (4)

(Reporting by Erika Solomon, Regan E. Doherty and Frederik Richter)

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