Muscat: The GCC countries have more than 8.8m non-resident Indians living in them, according to official statistics of the Indian government.
A non-resident Indian (NRI) is an Indian citizen who is ordinarily residing outside India and holds an Indian passport.
Gulf countries account for more than 66 percent of NRIs said the report.
There are approximately 13.4m NRI around the world, with GCC countries having the largest share.
The statistics were provided to a banker in the country, following a Right to Information (RTI) request.
India’s External Affairs Ministry provided the data, which is accurate up to March 2022, it said.
The UAE has the most NRI in the region, with more than 3.4m.
A banker Abhay Kolarkar had sought the data pertaining to NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) under the Right to Information (RTI) a few months ago and the ministry’s reply reached him in the last week of June.
In its RTI reply, the ministry said that an estimated 1.34 crore NRIs live in 210 countries.
The UAE has the most NRI in the region 3.41m, Saudi Arabia 2.59m, Kuwait 1.02m, Qatar 740,000, Oman, 770,000, Bahrain 320,000, US 1.28m, UK 350,000, Australia 240,000, Malaysia 220,000 and Canada 170,0000.
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