GCC population to hit 83.6 million by 2050

Muscat- A report issued by the Gulf Statistical Center predicted that population growth will continue during the period from 2025 to 2050, bringing the population of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to about 83.6 million by 2050, with an expected doubling of the elderly population to more than 5.5 million.

This highlights the importance of developing long-term policies in the areas of urban planning, health care, the labor market, and social protection to ensure the sustainability of development in the GCC countries.

The report on population indicators for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries issued by the center showed that the total population in the GCC countries reached about 61.5 million people by the end of 2024, recording an increase of 8.5 million people compared to 2019, with an average annual growth rate of 2.8 percent, which is about three times the global rate, reflecting an accelerating demographic dynamic in the region.

Regarding the age structure, the report indicated that the working-age group (15-64 years) constituted the largest percentage of the population at 76.7 percent at the council level, compared to 20.6 percent for the children group (0-14 years), and about 2.6 percent for the elderly (65 years and over), reflecting a youthful character of the population and an abundance of labor force, with a total dependency ratio of approximately 30 people of children and the elderly per 100 people of working age.

The percentage of males reached 62.7 percent compared to 37.3 percent for females at the level of the GCC countries, with a gender ratio of 168 males per 100 females. This is attributed to the nature of the demographic structure related to the expatriate workforce.