1.34 crore NRIs overall; 34 lakh in UAE, 12 lakh in US; 3.5 lakh in UK

The External Affairs Ministry revealed in an RTI reply that over 66% of the estimated 1.34 crore Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are residing in the Gulf countries, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain.

The data is as of March 2022, said the ministry.

An NRI is an Indian citizen who is ordinarily residing outside India and holds an Indian passport.

Nagpur-based banker Abhay Kolarkar said he had sought the data pertaining to NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) under Right to Information (RTI) a few months ago and the ministry’s reply reached him in the last week of June.

Also Read: I-T Dept tells NRIs, foreign citizens with inoperative PANs to show residential status proof

In its RTI reply, the ministry said that an estimated 1.34 crore NRIs live in 210 countries. Of these, 88.8 lakh overseas Indians live in six Gulf nations.

While 34.1 lakh NRIs live in the United Arab Emirates, 25.9 lakh live in Saudi Arabia, followed by 10.2 lakh in Kuwait, 7.4 lakh in Qatar, 7.7 in Oman and 3.2 lakh in Bahrain.

Kolarkar said he wanted the data to get a sense of the number of NRIs who might be affected in case of a war or a humanitarian crisis on foreign soil.

Also Read: Now NRIs from 10 countries can make payments through UPI, here’s how

As per the RTI reply, 12.8 lakh NRIs live in the US. The number is 3.5 lakh for the UK, 2.4 lakh for Australia, 2.2 lakh for Malaysia, and 1.7 lakh for Canada.

However, the Gulf nations have very few PIOs, while the US has more such persons.

A PIO is a person who or any of whose ancestors was an Indian national and who is presently holding another country’s citizenship or nationality i.e. he or she is holding a foreign passport.

At 31 lakh, the US has the most number of PIOs compared to other countries, said the RTI reply. It is followed by 27.6 lakh in Malaysia, 20 lakh in Myanmar, 16 lakh in Sri Lanka and 15.1 lakh in Canada.

(With agency inputs)