Kuwait: A low-income expat workers in Kuwait face significant financial burdens when renting an apartment due to the average rent accounting for 30 percent of their total income, local media reported.
The average rent for a room and hall is 180 Kuwaiti Dinars (KD) (Rs 48,785), while two rooms and a hall cost 230 KD (Rs 62,336) and a studio costs 120 KD (Rs 32,523).
Sixty-two percent of expat workers in the country earn less than 125 KD (Rs 33,878) monthly, while 33 percent receive salaries ranging from 325 to 400 KD (Rs 88,084 to 1,08,412), Arabic daily Al-Rai cited official figures.
Low-income expats are compelled to search for affordable housing options by selecting spaces that align with their financial means.
Expats often live in communal rooms, sometimes with up to five people, to distribute rent equally, while thousands of others live in uncomfortable partitions to save money.
A recent Kuwaiti census revealed that expats constitute approximately 3.2 million of the country’s total population of 4.6 million.
