Muscat: Workers in Oman sent about $9.5 billion abroad in 2025, equivalent to around 8.7 per cent of the Sultanate of Oman’s gross domestic product, as remittance flows across the Gulf climbed to a record $161 billion. New data from the GCC Statistical Centre show outward workers’ remittances from Oman increased 2.7 per cent during the year, considerably below the 13.6 per cent rise recorded across the six GCC states. The figures provide a clearer measure of the role expatriate labour continues to play in Oman’s economy as activity expands across construction, services, industry and other non-oil sectors.
While Oman accounted for less than 6 per cent of the GCC’s total outward remittances, the value of the transfers relative to the size of its economy was comparatively high. Remittances were equivalent to 8.7 per cent of Oman’s GDP in 2025, compared with a GCC-wide average of 6.6 per cent. Among Gulf states, Kuwait recorded the highest ratio at 10.6 per cent, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 10.1 per cent and Oman at 8.7 per cent.
The regional figures show a sharp acceleration in money sent abroad by expatriate workers. Total GCC remittances increased by about $19 billion from 2024 to reach $161 billion, the highest level recorded by the bloc and the second consecutive annual increase following a decline in 2023.
The UAE remained the largest source of remittances at approximately $62.1 billion, followed closely by Saudi Arabia at around $58 billion. Together, the two economies accounted for nearly three-quarters of all GCC outward remittances. Saudi Arabia recorded the strongest annual increase, at 26.9 per cent, followed by Kuwait at 18.2 per cent. The UAE recorded growth of 6.3 per cent, Qatar 4.7 per cent and Oman 2.7 per cent. Bahrain was the only GCC state to record a decline. GCC-Stat linked the regional increase to continued demand for expatriate labour alongside expanding economic activity in infrastructure, services, industry and non-oil sectors.
The figures underline the relationship between the Gulf’s economic expansion and its migrant workforce. As new projects and non-oil industries generate employment, part of the income generated within GCC economies is transferred to workers’ home countries. The scale of the regional flows is significant internationally.GCC-Stat said the six Gulf states collectively recorded the world’s highest outward workers’ remittances in 2025.
For comparison, the United States recorded about $107 billion, Switzerland $43 billion, Germany $27 billion and France $21 billion. The comparison is between the six GCC economies collectively and individual economies elsewhere and should therefore not be interpreted as a country-to-country ranking.
For Oman, the latest data also show a longer-term moderation in the relative weight of remittances. GCC-Stat data put outward remittances at 9.5 per cent of Oman’s GDP in 2021, compared with 8.7 per cent in 2025.Remittance flows remain an important source of household income and consumption in recipient economies, while for Gulf economies they provide another indicator of the scale and composition of expatriate employment underlying economic activity.
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