Bangladesh Falls Behind Sri Lanka and India as Top Domestic Worker Suppliers to Kuwait

Sri Lanka Among Leading Nations in Kuwait's Domestic Labour Market

Sri Lanka continues to hold a strong position as one of the foremost suppliers of domestic workers to Kuwait, ranking ahead of Bangladesh, which has fallen to fourth place in the Gulf nation's domestic workforce standings, according to recent data on Kuwait's foreign labour market.

Rankings Reveal Regional Competition

India leads the standings as the top source country for domestic workers in Kuwait, with Sri Lanka securing second position and the Philippines coming in third. Bangladesh, despite being a major labour-exporting nation in the broader Gulf region, trails behind all three countries when it comes specifically to the domestic worker segment in Kuwait.

The rankings highlight the continued reliance of Gulf Cooperation Council countries on South and Southeast Asian nations to meet their household staffing demands, with Sri Lanka maintaining a particularly competitive edge in this niche labour market.

Sri Lanka's Enduring Presence in Gulf Domestic Labour

Sri Lanka has long maintained a significant presence in the Gulf domestic labour sector, with thousands of Sri Lankan workers — predominantly women — employed as housemaids, caregivers and household staff across Kuwait and other Gulf states. Remittances from these workers continue to represent a meaningful contribution to Sri Lanka's foreign exchange earnings.

The domestic worker category remains one of the most prominent employment streams for Sri Lankan overseas workers, even as the government has at various times sought to regulate and improve the conditions under which citizens travel abroad for such employment.

Broader Implications for Labour Policy

The latest figures are likely to draw attention from labour policymakers across the region, particularly in Bangladesh, where authorities may look to strengthen bilateral agreements with Kuwait to improve their workers' market share. For Sri Lanka, the rankings reaffirm the importance of protecting and sustaining existing labour migration pathways to the Gulf, while ensuring adequate safeguards for workers employed in domestic settings abroad.

Advocacy groups have consistently called on the Sri Lankan government to enforce stronger protections for domestic workers overseas, including clearer contracts, regulated recruitment processes and accessible grievance mechanisms for those facing exploitation or abuse.