Whenever Gulf countries experience an economic slowdown, it has strong repercussions among common Arabs and their countries as well. That's because there is rarely a home in the Arab countries without a bread earner working in a Gulf state. The remittances of expatriates from the Gulf significantly contribute to the GDP of Arab states, such as Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon and Sudan. These countries take a sizeable cut of the Gulf economic cake, although Asian countries account for the lion's shares. The volume of remittances declined last year by 3% in 2016 as against the previous year, after rising steadily over the past decade. But they are still large enough to affect the standard of living of many families of expatriates in the Gulf. Remittances in 2016 amounted to SR 151.9 billion compared to SR 156.9 billion in 2015, which enabled the Kingdom to maintain its position as the second largest country in the world after the United States in terms of the volume of remittances. Despite India's global dominance in receiving remittances, with its citizens transferring $70 billion in 2013 alone, Egypt ranks first in terms of expatriate transfers, which touch $17 billion annually. With oil prices plummeting, Gulf governments are seriously considering taxing residents – as Saudi Arabia has just done. Saudi Arabia is the second largest country in the world after the United States in terms of foreign remittances, ranking first among the Gulf countries with $43 billion in remittances, followed by the UAE with $33 billion, Kuwait with $15 billion and Qatar with $11 billion, according to press reports. Arab countries are concerned about the decline in the Gulf economy. For example, Jordan fears that the Gulf recession will affect its fragile economy, especially with the return of expatriates working in the six Gulf countries. According to a study, the majority of Jordanian expatriates work in the GCC countries – 300,000 in Saudi Arabia and 141,000 in the United Arab Emirates. Around 76,000 work in the United States. A recent World Bank report said that expatriate remittances to Jordan accounted for 10 percent of the GDP in 2014. The Egyptians are the largest Arab community in Saudi Arabia, with their annual remittances reaching $ 7.5 billion in 2015. However, the World Bank Migration and Development Group has maintained that remittances from the GCC countries to the rest of the world remain strong despite economic fluctuations. The GCC enjoys a strong, effective and expanding economy, which attracts talent and manpower from around the world, especially from the Arab region, the Group noted. The impact of the slowing economy in the Gulf is not only on remittances. Arab exports to the Gulf countries have shrunk over the past two years as the purchasing power has declined in most Gulf countries.
