Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia

Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia (Arabic: العَمالَة الأَجْنَبِيَّة فِي السَعُودِيَّة, romanized: al-ʿamālah al-ʾāǧnabīyah fī as-Saʿūdīyah), estimated to number about 9 million as of April 2013,^[1] began migrating to the country soon after oil was discovered in the late 1930s. Initially, the main influx was composed of Arab and Western technical, professional and administrative personnel, but subsequently substantial numbers came from Southeast Asia.

Saudi Arabia has become increasingly dependent on foreign labour, and although foreign workers remain present in technical positions, most are now employed in the agriculture, cleaning and domestic service industries. The hierarchy of foreign workers is often dependent on their country of origin; workers from Arab nations and western nations generally hold the highest positions not held by Saudis, and the lower positions are occupied by persons from Africa, and Southeast Asia. The Saudi government has faced criticism from legal bodies and employers over the treatment of foreign workers. Saudi Arabia deported thousands of Tigrayan migrants to Ethiopia after holding them unlawfully for six months to six years in formal and informal detention facilities across the kingdom. The Tigrayan migrants were brutally tortured while being unjustly held in Saudi prisons.^[2]

^ "New plan to nab illegals revealed". Arab News. 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
^ "Ethiopia: Returned Tigrayans Detained, Abused". Human Rights Watch. 5 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.

[1] "New plan to nab illegals revealed". Arab News. 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2013.

[2] "Ethiopia: Returned Tigrayans Detained, Abused". Human Rights Watch. 5 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.

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