Gulf States record highest population growth

The member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have recorded the highest population growth in the world over the past decade, according to a report released on Sunday. Prepared by Kuwait’s Asiya Capital Investments Company, the report said that the rate of population growth in the GCC countries was almost four times higher than that in the United States, seven times higher than China and ten times higher than EU countries.

Expatriates now make up a large proportion of the population in the Gulf. It is estimated that 33 per cent of those living in Saudi Arabia are expats; the figure stands at more than 85 per cent in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which is the main reason for the spike.

The report pointed out that GCC countries registered a growth rate of 1.8 per cent annually, twice the number of countries with emerging markets. It suggested that population growth in the Euro zone and Japan will decline.

There is expected to be a slowdown in population growth in the world over the next decade. This is attributed to modern technology which has helped reduce the mortality rate in the developed world, while globalisation has allowed emerging markets to follow the West’s lead and reduce both the mortality rate and birth rate.

Estimates obtained from the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit in 2012 have the GCC demographics going up 30 per cent by 2020.