RIYADH: The total number of work visas issued for expatriate workers dropped by 14.9 percent in 2009 (1.5 million) compared to 2008 (1.8 million), according to a statistical report released by the Ministry of Labor. The report showed that the number of visas issued by the ministry to the private sector in 2009 stood at 982,400, compared to 1.2 million visas in 2008 - reflecting a drop of 20.9 percent. The visas issued by the ministry to the government sector in 2009 were 61,000 compared to 70,900 in 2008, a fall of 13.8 percent.
