Ministry of External Affairs Reports 20+ Indian Worker Deaths Daily, Most in Gulf

(INDIA) — India’s Ministry of External Affairs reported that 37,740 Indian workers died abroad between 2021 and 2025, a toll that works out to 20.6 deaths per day and falls most heavily on Gulf nations.

Written replies to the Rajya Sabha on January 29, 2026, and March 19, 2026, set out the scale of the deaths and the complaints received by Indian missions. More than 86% of the fatalities, or 32,608, occurred in Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The data places the burden squarely on the migration corridor that sends large numbers of Indian workers to Gulf nations for jobs in construction, services, transport and domestic work. The United Arab Emirates recorded 12,380 deaths, Saudi Arabia 11,757, Kuwait 3,890, Oman 2,821 and Qatar 1,760.

Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, provided the figures in the parliamentary replies. The same answers showed that Indian missions received 80,985 complaints from 2021 to 2025 involving abuse, exploitation, wage theft and inhumane working conditions.

Among those complaints, the heaviest volumes came from the UAE, with 16,965, and Kuwait, with 15,234. That means the countries that employ large numbers of Indian workers also account for both the highest death counts and the highest grievance loads.

The numbers point to a steady rise in fatalities over the period. Government data showed 6,614 deaths in 2022 and 7,854 in 2025.

That increase came even as India kept in place safeguards meant to regulate overseas recruitment. The government has used the e-Migrate portal and has authorized only state-run agencies to recruit female workers for ECR countries.

For many families, the figures reflect the risks attached to one of India’s largest labor migration streams. Gulf nations remain central to overseas employment for Indian workers, and the concentration of deaths there has sharpened attention on recruitment practices, living conditions and employer accountability.

The Ministry of External Affairs figures did not break down every death by cause. Official replies often do not provide a detailed separation between natural causes, workplace accidents or other reasons.

Rights groups have tried to frame that toll in economic terms. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has noted that for every $1 billion remitted to India from the Gulf, there are approximately 117 worker deaths.

That ratio adds another dimension to the remittance economy that links India to the Gulf. Money sent home supports households across multiple Indian states, but the official death totals show the human cost borne by workers and their families.

Indian missions also faced a sustained flow of workplace-related complaints over the same five-year period. The 80,985 grievances covered allegations ranging from non-payment of wages to exploitative treatment and poor living conditions.

Those complaints, recorded by missions that handle labor disputes and repatriation requests, offer a second measure of distress alongside the mortality data. They show pressure not only on workers abroad but also on India’s consular network.

Recent events in West Asia added another layer of vulnerability. As of March 20, 2026, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that at least six Indians were killed in the Gulf due to incidents linked to the escalating West Asia conflict.

That risk sits apart from workplace hazards but affects the same migrant population. Workers already exposed to labor abuse or weak protection can also find themselves caught in regional violence.

The parliamentary replies arrived as immigration and labor protection debates intensified beyond India as well. In the United States, Department of Homeland Security and USCIS statements during this period stressed enforcement, legal pathways and labor-market protection.

During his Senate confirmation hearing on March 18, 2026, DHS Secretary Nominee Markwayne Mullin said, “The mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to protect the homeland. We do have naturalisation ceremonies Monday through Friday in this country. We’re going to continue working with those individuals [who follow the rules].”

His remarks addressed U.S. immigration policy, not Indian labor migration to the Gulf. Still, they formed part of a broader official emphasis on enforcement and controlled legal entry that has shaped labor and migration debates internationally.

Matthew Tragesser, a USCIS spokesman, made that tone sharper in remarks published on November 13, 2025. “The distinction between legal and illegal immigration becomes meaningless when both can destroy a country at its foundation. Unchecked mass migration floods the American labor market, depressing wages and taking jobs away from hardworking Americans,” he said.

The U.S. State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons report also touched on labor abuse and coercion in international migration systems. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on September 30, 2025, “The Trump Administration is dedicated to upholding American values, protecting American workers, and defending its communities. [The report] pushes countries to take serious action against forced labor and sex trafficking.”

Those U.S. statements did not address the Indian government’s overseas worker death figures directly. They do, however, sit alongside concerns about forced labor, trafficking and the treatment of migrant workers across borders.

For India, the numbers in the Rajya Sabha replies bring attention back to protections already on the books and to the limits of those protections. The e-Migrate system was designed to regulate recruitment and track migration to ECR destinations, while the restriction on female recruitment through state-run agencies was meant to curb abuse.

Yet the five-year totals suggest those steps have not prevented large-scale harm. Deaths crossed 37,000 in five years, and complaints approached 81,000.

The concentration in Gulf nations stands out above all. With 32,608 of the 37,740 deaths occurring in GCC countries, the corridor remains both economically central and highly exposed.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia alone accounted for 24,137 deaths. Kuwait, Oman and Qatar added another 8,471.

Those country totals do more than rank destinations. They show how tightly the fate of Indian workers abroad is tied to a handful of labor markets in the Gulf.

The grievance figures tell a similar story. The UAE and Kuwait together accounted for 32,199 complaints, a large share of the 80,985 recorded from 2021 to 2025.

That overlap matters for policy. A country can be a top destination for jobs, a top source of remittances and a top source of distress at the same time.

The Ministry of External Affairs data also shows how the problem has endured across multiple years rather than spiking in a single period. The rise from 6,614 deaths in 2022 to 7,854 in 2025 points to worsening outcomes over time.

Because causes of death are not always detailed, the official totals do not by themselves explain what drove that increase. They do establish the scale of the losses and the regions where they were concentrated.

The government’s replies became public through Rajya Sabha documents dated January 29, 2026, and March 19, 2026. One of the documents is available here.

U.S. statements cited in this period were carried in the USCIS newsroom, DHS statements and the State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons report. Together with the Ministry of External Affairs replies, they form part of the official record surrounding migration, labor protection and worker vulnerability.

For India, the most immediate record is stark: 37,740 deaths abroad in five years, 32,608 of them in Gulf nations, and 80,985 complaints lodged with missions over abuse, exploitation, wage theft and inhumane conditions. The figures show that for many Indian workers who leave home in search of wages, the journey continues to carry a heavy price.