[4] Nearly 80 percent of Indians living in Kuwait are from Kerala according to the 2008 survey[citation needed] commissioned by the Department of Non-resident Keralite Affairs.

[citation needed] Huge oil reserves were discovered in the Eastern Arabia region (Arab states of the Persian Gulf) in the 1930s, with large-scale commercial extraction beginning in the early 1950s.

However, up until 2009, some people in Saudi Arabia who were remaining on Umrah visas worked illegally, mostly in lowly occupations, and were frequently deported if discovered.

A majority from the community chose to leave Kerala as a result of the strain of covering these marriage-related expenses, especially families that had more girls than boys.

First-generation migrants were also greatly motivated by the possibility of using their money to construct better homes and set up weddings for their sisters or daughters.

The village's poverty rate significantly decreased after the Gulf migration, and remittances were a major contributing factor to this improvement.

Films like Vilkkanundu Swapnangal and Nilavu contributed to highlight the hardships suffered by the migrants and their emotional journeys by showcasing their adversity and dreams of Keralites in Gulf.

Pathemari (English: Dhow) is a 2015 Malayalam-language period drama film written and directed by Salim Ahamed whose plot follows the life of Pallikkal Narayanan (Mammootty) who migrated to the Middle-East in the early 1960s, when the Kerala Gulf boom was just beginning.

The influence on culture also extended to the culinary scene, as Arabian eateries sprung up all over the place serving well-known dishes like Mandi, Shawarma, and Yamani Biryani.

Simultaneously, the adoption of parda / burkha, a traditional Islamic dress, became a dominant fashion trend in several districts of Kerala for more than two decades.