According to a study published by the Population Division of the United Nations most of the expat workers have been living outside their home countries for an extended period of time.

The United States ranked first as the most popular destination for expatriates with 45.8 million; followed by Russia, 11 million; Germany, 9.8 million; Saudi Arabia, 9.1 million; and the United Arab Emirates, 7.8 million.

The study says Asia has experienced the largest increase in the number of international migrants since 2000.

Despite the increasing number of foreign workers pouring into Saudi Arabia, the working condition seems to be harsh with many cases of violence and rights abuse reported by human rights organizations

Foreign workers have been raped, exploited, under- or unpaid, physically abused, overworked and locked in their places of employment.

The international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) describes these conditions as "near-slavery" and attributes them to "deeply rooted gender, religious, and racial discrimination".

In many cases the workers are unwilling to report their employers for fear of losing their jobs or further abuse.

Other forms of general discrimination, such as a lack of freedom of religion for non-Sunni Muslims, are also applicable.

According to a spokesperson from HRW, Saudi Arabian law does not provide strong legal protection for migrant workers and housemaids. As such, they face "arbitrary arrests, unfair trials and harsh punishments" and may falsely be accused of crime.

Amnesty International reports that those charged are often unable to follow the court proceedings, as they are often unable to speak the language and are not given interpreters or legal counsel.

SHI/SHI