Nepali Migrants to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: Values, Behaviors, and Plans

Nathalie Williams, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Arland Thornton, University of Michigan
Dirgha J. Ghimire, University of Michigan
Linda Young-DeMarco, University of Michigan
Mansoor Moaddel, Eastern Michigan University

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have large migrant populations with significant implications for their economies, politics, and social and ideational change. This article aims to establish ways in which the economic and social character of the GCC countries is influenced by their migrant populations. We use survey data from a representative sample of Nepali migrants to examine key demographic characteristics; work, income, and remittances; future migration plans; and values. Results show that remittances were common and large, suggesting large flows of money from the GCC to Nepal. Most migrants intended to migrate again and other GCC countries were common intended destinations. Most migrants endorsed material aspects of “modernity” but also retained their historical social values. Contributions from this cross-sectional study towards understanding the impact of Nepali migrants on the GCC highlight the benefits of future longitudinal data collection that could provide further insight into these processes over time.