GCC Population Expected to Reach 83.6 Million by 2050

Report: Elderly Population in GCC to Double by 2050

Muscat: A report issued by the Gulf Statistical Center (GSC) projected continued population growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries during the period 2025–2050, with the total population expected to reach approximately 83.6 million by 2050. The report also forecasts a doubling of the elderly population to more than 5.5 million, underscoring the importance of developing long-term policies in urban planning, healthcare, labor markets, and social protection to ensure sustainable development across GCC states.

According to the population indicators report, the total population of GCC countries reached about 61.5 million by the end of 2024, marking an increase of 8.5 million people compared to 2019. The average annual population growth rate stood at 2.8 percent, nearly three times the global average, reflecting the region’s rapidly accelerating demographic dynamics.

In terms of age structure, the report showed that the working-age population (15–64 years) accounted for 76.7 percent of the total population at the GCC level, compared to 20.6 percent for the children group (0–14 years) and 2.6 percent for the elderly (65 years and above). This structure reflects the youthful nature of the population and the availability of a large labor force, with a total dependency ratio of about 30 children and elderly persons per 100 people of working age.

The report further indicated that males constituted 62.7 percent of the total population, compared to 37.3 percent for females, resulting in a gender ratio of 168 males per 100 females. This imbalance is largely attributed to the demographic composition associated with the expatriate workforce in GCC countries.