There has been an increase in the number of expatriates from countries such as the Philippines, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tanzania, and Sudan in the past six months.
This is in addition to the expatriates from three dominant communities – Bangladeshis, Indians, and Pakistanis.
Apart from 595,269 Bangladeshis, 510,105 Indians and 233,477 Pakistanis, at the end of July 2022, there are 47,744 Filipinos in the Sultanate of Oman, witnessing an increase from 45,388 at the end of 2021.
The population of Egyptians increased from 30,998 to 33,294, Sri Lankans from 19,128 to 22,821, Nepalis from 16,800 to 19,947, Tanzanians from 11,436 to 12,224 and Sudanese from 7,771 to 8,976.
Meanwhile, the number of expatriate workers in the government sector has dropped 24.3 per cent to 29,843 in July 2022 from 37,996 at the end of last year.
At the same time, the number of expatriates in the private sector went up 15 per cent to 1,267,642 in July this year from 1,131,526 at the end of 2021.
During the same period, the population of expatriates in Muscat went up from 590,009 to 637,264, in Dhofar from 163,112 to 186,479, South Batinah from 93,983 to 110,038 and North Sharqiyah from 81,719 to 92,404.
According to analysts, the drop in the number of the expatriate population in the public sector can be attributed to the replacement policy of the government, while the demand for workers in the private sector is due to the economic growth triggered by the ease of Covid-19 restrictions and surge in oil prices.
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