Alliah Mae A.

Dionisio Asynch #1
BSBA MM 2-1 Oct. 8, 2022

Did you know that Kuwait's flag has a meaning? Kuwait is a small Arab nation that packs a lot of fascinating
facts and history. Or the fact that the nation is entitled to some of the biggest oil reserves in the world? In fact,
Kuwait is among the richest nations on earth. Here are some of the most fascinating facts about Kuwait,
whether you are considering a trip there or are just interested.

The sixth-largest oil reserve in the world is in Kuwait. Kuwait's proven oil reserves total 104 billion barrels. This
is the sixth-largest oil resource in the world. Kuwait has oil reserves that account for 8% of global oil reserves.
Kuwait's oil reserves are equivalent to 774.6 times its yearly consumption, therefore even with net exports,
there would still be approximately 775 years of oil supply. This excludes unproven reserves and is based on
current consumption levels.

The Kuwaiti flag is rich with symbolism. Green, white, and red horizontal stripes with a black triangle with a
point cut off make up the Kuwaiti flag. The colors of the Kuwaiti flag were drawn from a poem by the Arabic
poet Ṣafī ad-Dīn al-Ḥilli. Officials began using this version of the Kuwaiti flag on October 24, 1961. In his fakhr
("boasting") song from the 13th century, he wrote: "White are our deeds, black are our wars, / Green are our
tents, red are our swords."

Travelers should be aware of Kuwait's extremely rigorous restrictions in order to avoid offending the locals.
These regulations may include a clothing code for female passengers. The ideal time to travel is in the spring
when the temperature is cool and comfortable. Kuwait also has many more attractions, including top-notch
museums, contemporary retail centers, and marinas. These are only a few of the popular tourist destinations.

An Arab nation called Kuwait is situated on the Persian Gulf. Kuwait is bordered to the west and north by Iraq,
to the east by the Persian Gulf, and to the south by Saudi Arabia. It has a little greater area than the U.S. state
of Hawaii. This Arabian treasure combines traditional Islamic culture with Western liberalism. But religion is an
essential component of daily life.

Arabic is the native and official language, and proficiency in it is necessary for naturalization. Kuwaitis use a Gulf
Arabic dialect, and modern standard Arabic is taught at educational institutions. In public schools, English is
taught as a second language. The immigrant community also speaks a lot of other languages, including Hindi,
Urdu, Persian (Farsi), and others.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia shared a neutral zone in the gulf measuring 2,200 square miles (5,700 square
kilometers) until a political boundary was decided in 1969. Although each of the two nations now controls half
of the territory (known as the Neutral or Partitioned Zone), they still evenly split the profits from the region's oil
output. The border with Saudi Arabia is known, while the one with Iraq is still up for debate.
In Kuwait's past, there have been a number of significant class distinctions. These differences, which were
primarily economic when Kuwait was a commerce entrepôt, became less prominent as the state took over as
the nation's main employer when oil was discovered in the 1930s and these deposits were economically
developed in the following decades. The old mercantile oligarchy, the Banū (Banī) ʿUtūb—of which the reigning
family is a member—is the only historically significant class that is still politically significant.

Kuwaitis continue to be a minority in their own country despite a government strategy to minimize the number
of foreign workers after the invasion of Iraq in 1990. Approximately two-thirds of the population are expatriate
workers, the majority of whom are presently from South and Southeast Asia but were historically from other
Arab states. These foreigners are not granted the economic or political rights of citizenship that belong to
Kuwaitis, who are individuals who can demonstrate ancestry in Kuwait before 1920. There is a rigorous cap on
naturalization. The majority of the population is Arab, either Bedouin, sedentary, or descended from
immigrants from other parts of the region. A small number of ethnic Persians have lived in the nation for many
years.

- Aging population of the labor market

According to official statistics, 1.5 million persons between the ages of 25 and 49 make up 80 percent of the
workforce in the local labor market, including both citizens and residents. According to labor market statistics
as of the end of March, 344,970 citizens and residents who are 50 years of age or older and employed make up
around 18% of the market force. According to the data, people between the ages of 15 and 19 are not
employed on the Kuwaiti labor market.

Figure 1.

LABOR MARKET ACCORDING TO AGE GROUPS

50 years and
above, 344,970, 25-29, 253,140,
20-24, 34,765, 2%
16% 12%

45-49, 233,500, 30-34, 352,240,

11% 16%

25-29, 253,140,
12%
35-39, 350,674,
16%
40-44, 315,576,
15%

On the other hand, according to the data above, between the ages of 20 and 24, roughly 34,765 citizens and
residents regularly enter the job market. Based on figure 1, citizens and residents aged 30 to 34, totaling
352,240, came in first when rating them in Kuwait's labor market according to age groups; they made up more
than 18% of the workforce. With 350,674 male and female workers, the age group of 35- to 39-year-olds came
in second. The age group of 40 to 44-year-old citizens and residents came in third with 315,576 male and
female workers. Workers in the 25–29 age range came in fourth with 253,140, and those in the 45–49 age
range came in fifth with 233,500 male and female workers. 85 percent of Kuwait's workforce, measured in terms
of individuals participating in the labor force, is made up of people between the ages of 25 and 49.

Figure 2.

TOTAL NUMBER CITIZENS

100,000 91,370
89,829
90,000 81,890
80,000
70,000 62,140
60,000
50,000 45,420 46,000

40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50 years and
above

Based on the figure above, with a combined total of 91,370 employees, male and female residents in the age
range of 30 to 34 years make up the largest share of employment among citizens. The citizens of the age
group from 25 to 29 years old come in second, with 89,829 male and female residents, followed by those of the
age group from 35 to 39 years, 81,890 male and female residents, 62,140 male and female residents, and in
fifth place, 45,420 male and female residents of the age group from 45 to 49 years. Mention should be made of
the fact that female citizens made up 217,200 employees, or more than 58.4% of Kuwaitis in the age categories
most represented in the labor market, as opposed to 153,450 male citizens in the same age groups. According
to the data, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of residents, both men and women, over 49
years old who are employed. Moreover, 10.5 percent of Kuwait's population, or about 46,000 male and female
residents, are employed. This group makes up a massive portion of the country's work force.
Figure 3.

With 268,770 residents, the majority of whom are male, the age range of 35 to 39 years has the biggest
proportion of employees (232,239 residents). With 260,870 male and female residents, the workers aged 30 to
34 years came in second, with the biggest number of male residents (231,690) thousand inhabitants. Residents
between the ages of 40 and 44, who make up 253,430 male and female residents, are in third position,
followed by residents between the ages of 45 and 49, who make up 188,000 residents, and inhabitants
between the ages of 25 and 29, who make up roughly 231.690 male and female residents. There were around
138,587 residents in the labor force who were in the 50 to 54 age range. The proportion of non-Kuwaitis over
the age of 55 who are employed has begun to sharply decline. Between the ages of 55 and 59, there are 89,700
individuals, between the ages of 60 and 64, there are 41,740 residents, and between the ages of 65 and over,
there are 28,950 residents. The age group of 65 and older had the fewest workers in Kuwait, making up a total
of 32,862 citizens and residents. They were followed by the age group of 20 to 24 years, with 34,765 workers,
and the age group of 60 to 64 years, with 45,380 citizens and residents.

- Diversification of the labor market

The Gulf monarchies will eventually need to diversify their economies and offer goods to the rest of the world
outside oil (Cherif and Hasanov 2016; Staff of the IMF 2016; Callen et al. 2014). The need to diversify is urgent
for several Gulf economies, such as Oman. While some countries, like Kuwait, can support their citizen
populations for a while longer on oil income, they nevertheless need to think about how to build their
economies in anticipation of the day when oil export revenues will not be enough to maintain the current
quality of living.

Any economy that depends on the export of a single primary resource will find it difficult to diversify. The Gulf's
labor market structure makes such diversification much more challenging. There are two labor markets in each
of the monarchies in the Gulf, one for locals and one for foreigners. These two labor markets are fully separate
among the wealthier rentiers. Foreigners mostly work in the private sector, whereas locals work in the public
sector. Citizen employment is one way that oil revenues are distributed in the public sector. As a result, the
comparatively high pay received by the majority of Gulf nationals, particularly in the wealthier rentiers, have
nothing to do with labor productivity and market wages for foreign workers. Employers in the private sector
often only employ people when required to do so by government regulations, and even then, they frequently
do little to put citizen labor to effective use.

There are around four alternatives for workers in the Gulf's diversification. Each touch on fundamental facets of
political economics and governing institutions and may carry hazards as well as advantages. These selections
represent the outcome of two options. First, how much of their economies do the Gulf states want to rely on
foreign labor? Second, how much do they wish to develop a distinct labor market for residents that offers
better pay, more lenient working conditions, etc.

1. Accept foreign workers

One strategy to create a diverse economy is to completely embrace the employment of low-cost foreign labor,
which is particularly prominent in Dubai. This benefits industries like tourism that need a lot of inexpensive
labor. Then this economy is taxed, generating money that can be allocated to the populace via employment in
the public sector (albeit the populace today mostly depends on the state's oil revenues). The UAE now has a
non-citizen to citizen ratio that is close to eight to one, therefore the Dubai model requires a lot of foreign
labor. The model's inability to be easily implemented outside of the richest and smallest Gulf rentiers, however,
may be its worst flaw. The model functions best in nations with substantial oil income per capita (as is the case
in the UAE as a whole) and a tiny population. Saudi Arabia and Oman both have an excessive population.
Kuwait has not successfully built a business climate that is alluring enough to truly resemble Dubai.
Nevertheless, despite the Dubai model's impossibility, a look at Gulf labor markets up until very recently would
indicate that all six Gulf monarchs want to adopt it.

2. Combine the labor markets

A second approach is to adopt a low-cost labor strategy while combining the labor markets for citizens and
non-citizens into one, maintaining the importance of foreign labor in the economy. The use of cheap domestic
and international labor would then allow for further diversification. Institutions of international finance
encourage this tactic. It would be accomplished by decreasing the number of people working in the public
sector and lowering the pay for those who are still there (International Monetary Fund 2015, 19). Some of the
Gulf monarchs may be forced to reduce pay and restrict citizen employment in the public sector due to
budgetary concerns. However, this tactic, if applied firmly, is the very last resort. Reducing the living standards
of unskilled citizen employees to those of laborers from some of the world's poorest countries is just not a
politically viable choice in countries that still enjoy significant oil revenues.

3. Only rely on citizen labor

Reduce the amount of non-citizen labor in the Gulf nations drastically as a third tactic. This would prevent the
Gulf economies from diversifying at a low cost and require them to do so, if and when they choose to, using
citizen labor. It is unlikely that the Gulf monarchies will fully back this tactic (though some public discourse in
Kuwait suggests some support for the strategy there). Nevertheless, it is valuable to study the effects of
drastically less foreign labor in the Gulf as a thought experiment to highlight the intricate relationships between
labor markets, diversity, budgets, and political restraints. The economy would experience a rapid drop, with real
estate owners and companies that rely heavily on foreign labor suffering the most serious effects. The cost of
locally produced services would likewise increase, as would wage rates. Due to the state's low economic taxes,
a fall in economic activity would not have a negative impact on state tax collections, and a decrease in the
population would result in lower costs for the state's infrastructure, health care, policing, energy subsidies, and
other services. Last but not least, companies who aim to manufacture tradeable items would have to pay more
for labor but would also have access to a labor force of citizens used to working in the private sector. Long-
term objectives include creating a citizen labor force that contributes positively to the private sector by creating
non-tradeable items for other citizens. Citizens who work productively in the private sector may acquire the
knowledge and abilities needed to produce non-energy exports as well.

4. Cut back on the use of foreign labor

The Gulf regimes are most likely to embrace the fourth strategy (apart from the UAE and maybe Qatar). The
regimes divide the private sector labor market, reserving some areas (often sectors, or professions) for high-
cost citizen labor, and other areas for low-cost foreign workers. This avoids relying solely on domestic labor.
This accomplishes some of the advantages of the third tactic while avoiding its most severe drawbacks. The
cost of labor as a whole rise with less foreign labor, which reduces state costs. However, some of the cost
benefits of having non-tradeable services performed by cheap foreign labor are retained by the citizens. The
approach calls for a highly robust administrative framework that firmly upholds the divisions between sectors
open to expatriates and those reserved for citizens. Lacking robust institutions, politically connected companies
will find ways to get around the law and employ foreign workers whenever and wherever they can. But when it
comes to enforcing labor market norms against influential private interests, the Gulf states have a poor track
record.

- Existing AWA/ Existing Alternative Work Arrangement

The COVID-19 epidemic had significant negative effects on our health and economy and affected every
element of our professional and personal lives. To stop the COVID-19 illness from spreading, many nations
throughout the world enacted various limitations. All over the world, governments and authorities promoted
physical seclusion and other forms of home confinement, discouraged social gatherings, and closed schools,
gyms, and shopping centers. In order to stay safe, many businesses and institutions encouraged their staff to
work from home (WFH). As a result, for many people, houses have replaced offices, schools, and gyms. Even
while movement limits and house confinement measures were crucial in limiting the COVID-19 infection,
unfavorable health effects of such restrictions started to emerge.

The most recent research has demonstrated how numerous facets of lifestyle, including eating habits, physical
activity, weight, and sleep, can have a negative impact on one's health. People are engaging in more unhealthy
dietary habits, such as frequent snacking, consuming larger portions, engaging in less physical exercise,
spending more time each day sitting and using screens, gaining weight, and having trouble sleeping.

To slow the spread of COVID-19 starting in March 2020, Kuwait has quickly put preventative measures in place,
such as restricting the number of people going to work and switching to WFH. Working from home during the
has a negative impact on a number of lifestyle factors, according to a new study. 39% of switched to working
from home (WFH) reported eating more, 33% reported less daily physical reported weight gain, and 21%
reported insomnia. Another study found a decrease in walking among those who worked from home during
the pandemic, which was linked to depression. To our knowledge, only a small number of studies have
examined the effects of working from home on lifestyle factors during COVID-19.

Numerous hazardous professions practiced by migrant workers pose health risks from chemical and physical
exposures, which frequently appear in combinations or as mixtures. Due to linguistic and cultural limitations,
problems related to these dangers might be considerably magnified among migratory workers. As a result, any
occupational preventative strategy (such as safe work practices and wearing personal protective equipment)
may lose some of its effectiveness. Migrant workers find it challenging to communicate their symptoms or
concerns to their superiors due to language problems. Due to the customary great variety of languages among
worker populations, training on measures like social distance and/or hygiene instructions may not be
supported.

It is unknown how common and severe infections are among migrant workers. In attempt to limit and slow the
spread of COVID-19, Kuwait has implemented a number of public health control measures, including the
closing of all non-essential enterprises, the closure of all schools and colleges, a complete border lockdown,
and a partial curfew. The government-imposed zone isolation as the disease began to spread in communities
with a high migrant worker population. To identify cases at an early stage, prevent the progression to severe
illness, and reduce the number of people who could potentially contract the infection, active public health
surveillance efforts are required. Outreach to migrant worker communities to educate about illness symptoms
and their prevention is also necessary.

Should they test positive for COVID-19, many employees might not be able to properly self-isolate. The
government must engage with businesses to seek some type of separate temporary accommodation for
migrant employees who test positive in circumstances when living conditions cannot be changed to new social
distancing guidelines. Hotels and various types of temporary housing are among them. The government must
now develop a long-term strategy to upgrade all workers' living conditions.

- Conclusion/Analyzation/Recommendation

It is possible that the Gulf states have started taking demographic reform seriously after decades of talking about it.
Remittances would decrease and job possibilities will be scarcer, which has negative effects for expatriates and their
home nations. In the worst circumstances, immigration raids have dispersed unauthorized immigrant families. Those
with the fewest resources suffer the worst repercussions.

However, the implications are more favorable in terms of the future diversification of the Gulf economies. The
production of tradable non-hydrocarbon goods and services in the Gulf economies is the only long-term
solution to decreasing oil prices. Using or not using citizen labor is up to you. The Gulf economies must either
follow the Dubai model, which has political dangers, or figure out how to utilize citizen labor effectively in both
the marketable and non-tradable sectors. Recent developments imply that some Gulf governments may decide
to use citizen labor for the first time as they continue to grow their economies.

In Kuwait, migrant laborers are a marginalized group of people. They frequently don't receive the protection
provided by governmental laws, must overcome linguistic and cultural hurdles, and accept unstable positions
that come with increased risks, lower compensation, and longer hours. Migrant workers in Kuwait have
experienced numerous unique stressors as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, both on and off the job. In order
to evaluate pressures on migrant workers in the job, environment, community, and individual domains, we used
a cumulative risk assessment methodology. In order to address these many stressors, we used the framework
to inform novel risk management techniques and exposure reduction tactics. Despite the paucity of
quantitative data in our assessment, we highlighted the kind of information that would be required to
guarantee ongoing re-evaluation. Although this may require a lot of resources (money, people, and time), a
coordinated effort focused on important social supports will have a significant positive impact on the
community's health. This framework for assessing cumulative risk for migrant workers in Kuwait can be used in
other nations and in many contexts.

References:
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May, Melanie. (2022, February). 7 Interesting Facts About Kuwait. Bigseventravel.com.

https://bigseventravel.com/interesting-facts-about-kuwait/

Kuwait population (live). Worldometer. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.worldometers.info/world-
population/kuwait-population/

Writer, S. (2022, July 18). '80% workers in Kuwait's local market aged between 25 & 49 years'. ZAWYA. Retrieved
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Kuwait: A country in Middle East Asia famous for Hot Sand Dunes and stunning cityscape. skyticket Travel Guide. (n.d.).
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rentiers

Alahmad, B., Kurdi, H., Colonna, K., Gasana, J., Agnew, J., & Fox, M. A. (2020, July 1). Covid-19 stressors on
migrant workers in Kuwait: Cumulative risk considerations. BMJ Global Health. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from
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