Non-Resident Indians in Saudi Arabia

Indians as migrant workers first began to arrive in modern-day Saudi Arabia in relatively small numbers from the British Raj soon after the discovery of oil in 1938,^[5] but their migration numbers skyrocketed exponentially after the 1973 energy crisis and subsequent oil boom.^[6] However, migration to Saudi Arabia dropped dramatically after reaching its peak in 2014^[6] due to the introduction of the Nitaqat scheme in 2011,^[7][8] the acceleration of the 2010s oil glut by early 2016, and the launch of Saudi Vision 2030.

India and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to manage and organize the recruitment of domestic workers in January 2014. Between then and April 2016, 500,000 Indians moved to Saudi Arabia for employment. The agreement includes a provision which stipulates that sponsors must pay a guarantee of US$2,500 for each Indian worker they recruit.^[9]

The following table shows the estimated population of Indians in Saudi Arabia since 1975.

Indian curriculum schools in Saudi Arabia include:

• Indian Saudis
• India – Saudi Arabia relations
• Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia
• Migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
  • Treatment of South Asian labourers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region