Author Description

The major source for the profound socioeconomic and political changes in the Persian/Arabian Gulf countries during the second half of the 20th century is oil. This volume details the demographic developments in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, which achieved the highest population growth rates in the Middle East from the oil boom of October 1973 onwards. Issues addressed include: the demographic characteristics of the indigenous GCC populations (natural increase rates, age structure, and more); the causes and consequences of the rapid increase of foreign workers in these countries, which from the mid-1980s onwards constituted the majority of the GCC labour force; and demographic policies toward both the local and the foreign populations.