Now Reading: Over 11,000 Indian workers died in Saudi, UAE each since 2021
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Over 11,000 Indian workers died in Saudi, UAE each since 2021
India's external affairs ministry told Parliament on Thursday that over 11,000 Indian workers died in Saudi Arabia and another 11,489 in the UAE between 2021 and 2025, accounting for more than 71…
The Story in Brief
India's external affairs ministry told Parliament on Thursday that over 11,000 Indian workers died in Saudi Arabia and another 11,489 in the UAE between 2021 and 2025, accounting for more than 71 per cent of all Indian fatalities in Gulf nations. Kuwait reported 3,890 deaths, Oman 2,457, Qatar 1,548 and Bahrain 1,206 during this period.
Most countries saw a sharp spike in 2021, likely due to Covid-19, with numbers declining in 2022. But Saudi Arabia and the UAE recorded rising deaths from 2022 onward through 2025. Nearly one crore Indians live in the six GCC countries, including 45 lakh in the UAE alone.
The Indian Opinion
These figures are grim, but they invite more heat than light if poorly framed. The 2021 spike points clearly to Covid-19, not to a sudden deterioration in working conditions. Yet lazy narratives may paint a steady rise in Gulf worker deaths, ignoring that Saudi and UAE numbers climbed only after a pandemic drop. The real test: how 2025’s final count compares with pre-Covid years, and whether the ministry discloses cause-of-death data, which would separate accidents from illness from exploitation.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
