Indian expats dual role in UAE’s economy

It is a well-known fact that the Indian community in the United Arab Emirates makes up a big part of the population of the country. But what really is the situation in numbers and facts? Here are is an insight into this question through summaries of various up-to-date researches.

According to the Embassy of India in the UAE, the Indian community in the country is estimated at 1.75 million people. That is about 30% of the total population in the United Arab Emirates. In other words, Indians are the biggest expatriate community on this part of the Middle East. It is very much possible the number of Indian expats to be much higher in 2013.

The majority of Indians in the country (65%) are blue-collar workers. This means that they are employed mainly in the spheres of construction and agriculture. Around 20% of the Indian community in the UAE are categorized as white-collar non-professionals. Simply said, they work as salesmen, clerical staff, shop assistants and non-qualified jobs. Another 15% of them are business people and professionals.

The role of the Indian community in UAE’s economic development over the last three or four decades is often mentioned and recognized. For instance, in the Dubai Economic Council’s Dubai Economic Outlook report, Indians are said to have purchased the most property in Dubai over the last twelve months. The report states that 27% of the biggest purchase deals in the emirate were made by Indians. The Indian community had poured about AED 8 billion in the country’s real estate sector over the past year. In contrast, the British spent only AED 4 billion. This makes Indians the leading expat investors in the United Arab Emirates.

According to another study, India’s ultra-high net-worth individuals point Dubai as their top global location for home investment. The report’s name is Top of the Pyramid 2013: Decoding the Ultra HNF India. It has found that Indians’ favorite area in Dubai is the Downtown Dubai district.

Despite all of that, however, the Indians are also the biggest remitters in the world. A new report by the World Bank referred to Indian expats as the world’s top remitters. It has estimated that the amount of money which Indian expats transfer to their families in India may hit $97 billion worldwide by the end of 2013.

Therefore, UAE’s Indian expats are both helping and causing some damage to the country’s economy by exporting funds back home.