A recent United Nations report says that three percent of all emigrants from around the world live in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hayat Arabic daily said Friday that the report put the United States at the top of the list of nations hosting immigrants while the Kingdom, despite its laws preventing the permanent settling of foreigners, came fourth in the list. The Kingdom is also described in the report as one of the top 10 countries in the world attracting the interest of emigrants. The report, according to Al-Hayat, says that 213 million persons are living outside their home countries around the globe, and that economic reasons form the primary motive for leaving their countries of birth. The report praised Middle East nations for their large intake of immigrants employed in oil, services and the construction industry, and singled out Saudi Arabia for its administrative and employment assistance to them. It noted that while some immigrants intend to only work for a few years before returning home, tens of thousands choose to remain in the Kingdom for many years. Previous studies, Al-Hayat said, had revealed that most immigrants in Saudi Arabia had no fixed time of stay either in their own minds or in contract. In terms of demographics, the report said that Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates hosted the largest numbers of immigrants in proportion to native citizens.
