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As of February 2025, four out of the five countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council ranked amongst the top ** in the world for expatriate quality of life. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar topped the list for quality of life, whereas Kuwait came last in the region. 

Quality of life: an amalgamation of many metrics

Since quality of life is dependent on many indicators, it can give us a good insight into many aspects of state welfare policies and services. Saudi Arabia, where the number of foreign workers in the private sector topped *** million, also ranked as having one of the region's lowest quality of life for expatriates. Qatar, which had the second-highest quality of life for expatriates living in the GCC, was ranked as one of the most challenging countries in the region for ease of settling in. The UAE and Qatar, both of which ranked the highest in the survey, also have the highest average salaries and living standards in the region.

Foreign workers are a key pillar of the GCC economy

Countries in the GCC all have sizable expatriate populations for which their economies are heavily reliant. Roughly of the workforce in the GCC is foreign. Although the share of foreign workers in the GCC has slightly decreased in recent years, they still considerably outweigh the local workforce. Most of these workers comprise the unskilled portion of the occupational category in the GCC. However, with diversifying investments and programs such as Vision 2030, countries have seen a rise in the number of skilled foreign workers.