In a recent financial update, it was reported that the monthly remittances from expatriates in Saudi Arabia surged to 11.9 billion Saudi Riyals (SR) in March, reaching a zenith not seen in almost two years. The data, released by the Saudi Central Bank, indicated a 4 percent growth compared to the same period in the previous year.
Notably, this spike in March represented the highest amount since June 2022, as highlighted by a Saudi news outlet. The remittances for March showed a substantial rise of 2.6 billion SR, a 28 percent increase over the figures from February of the same year.
In contrast, February’s remittance levels had witnessed a decline of 4 percent year-on-year, marking the most significant drop in over four years with transfers dipping to approximately 9.3 billion SR, the lowest since June 2019.
Saudi Arabia, known for its sizeable expatriate workforce, has been actively pursuing policies aimed at boosting employment opportunities for its citizens, a strategy referred to as “Saudisation”.
The Saudi General Authority for Statistics recently reported the nation’s total population at 32.2 million, with foreigners accounting for 13.4 million or 41.5 percent. Significantly, migrants from three Asian countries make up more than 42 percent of the total non-native population in the kingdom.
Leading the numbers, Bangladeshi expatriates constitute about 15.08 percent of the foreign population, followed closely by Indian and Pakistani nationals, tallying 1.88 million and 1.81 million residents, respectively.