Foreign job is not easy, 20 Indians die every day, data will surprise you

The figures of deaths of Indian workers on foreign soil are shocking. From 2021 to 2025, 37,740 Indians lost their lives on foreign soil. Meaning, on an average, more than 20 Indians have lost their lives every day. Of these, 86 percent deaths have occurred in Gulf countries alone. The highest number of 12,380 Indians have died in the United Arab Emirates in five years. There is news of the death of 8 Indian citizens in the current crisis in West Asia.

On January 29, in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, in his written reply, submitted the details of Indian citizens who lost their lives on foreign soil. According to statistics, a maximum of 8,234 Indian workers lost their lives in the year 2021. 6,614 deaths recorded in 2022, 7,291 in 2023, 7,747 in 2024 and 7,854 in 2025.

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How many Indians die every year?

• Bahrain: 342 Indians lost their lives here in 2021. This figure will reduce to 178 in 2025. As of February 2026, 39 people have died.
• Kuwait: 1,138 Indians died in 2021. 714 lives have been lost in 2025 and 91 lives have been lost till February this year.
• Oman: 913 Indian workers died in 2021. The cases will reduce almost three times in five years to 360 in 2025. 51 have lost their lives in February 2026.
• Queue: Deaths of 380 Indians in 2021 and 287 in 2025. By February 2026, 47 people lost their lives.
• Saudi Arabia: 2,252 Indians lost their lives in Saudi Arabia in 2021. In 2025 the figure will increase to 2533.
• United Arab Emirates: 2,714 Indian workers died in UAE in 2021. 2,754 died in 2025. Till February this year, 385 have died.

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Death figures are increasing in Gulf countries

Eight years ago, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, through RTI, sought data related to the deaths of Indian workers in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from January 1, 2012 to mid-2018. At that time the government had said that in 2017 there were about 22.53 lakh Indian workers in six Gulf countries. About 24,570 Indian citizens died in the Gulf countries in six years. Meaning, on an average 10 laborers were losing their lives every day. If we talk about the current figures, 20 Indians are dying every day abroad. Of these, 18 lives are being lost only in Gulf countries.

Abuse and exploitation are also happening

From 2021 to 2025, Indian citizens living abroad lodged about 80,985 complaints at embassies. These related to workplace exploitation, abuse and pay. Maximum 16,965 complaints were filed in UAE, 15,234 complaints in Kuwait, 13,295 in Oman and 12,988 complaints in Saudi Arabia in the last five years.