Demographics of Saudi Arabia

File:Saudi-Arabia-demography.png

Demographics of Saudi Arabia, Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest state in the Arab world, with a reported population of 32,175,224 as of 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 41.6% of inhabitants are immigrants.<ref name="CIA">Template:Cite web</ref> Saudi Arabia has experienced a population explosion in the last 40 years,<ref name="Zuhur, Sherifa 2011">Zuhur, Sherifa. Saudi Arabia (Middle East in Focus). ABC-CLIO Interactive, 2011.</ref> and continues to grow at a rate of 1.62% per year.<ref name="CIA"/>

Until the 1960s, most of the population was nomadic or semi-nomadic; due to rapid economic and urban growth, more than 95% of the population is now settled. 80% of Saudis live in ten major urban centers: Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Hofuf, Ta'if, Buraydah, Khobar, Yanbu, Dhahran, and Dammam.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some cities and oases have densities of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer. Saudi Arabia's population is characterized by rapid growth, far more men than women, and a large cohort of youths.

Saudi Arabia hosts one of the pillars of Islam, which obliges all Muslims to make the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once during their lifetime if they are able to do so. The cultural environment in Saudi Arabia is highly conservative; the country adheres to the interpretation of Islamic religious law (Sharia). Cultural presentations must conform to narrowly defined standards of ethics.

Most citizens of Saudi Arabia are ethnically Arabs, the majority of whom are tribal. However, more than 40% of Saudi Arabia's population are non-citizens.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to a random survey, most non-citizens living in Saudi Arabia come from the Indian Subcontinent and Arab countries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Many Arabs from nearby countries are employed in the country, particularly Egyptians,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as the Egyptian community developed from the 1950s onwards.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> There also are significant numbers of Asian expatriates, mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Syria and Yemen. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was also a significant community of South Korean migrant labourers, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, but due rapid economic growth and development in South Korea, most have since returned home; the South Korean government's statistics showed only 1,200 of their nationals living in Saudi Arabia (most of them being professionals and business personnels) Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are more than 100,000 Westerners in Saudi Arabia, most of whom live in private compounds in the major cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, Yanbu and Dhahran. The government prohibits non-Muslims from entering the cities of Mecca and Medinah.

Population

File:Historical population of Saudi Arabia.svg

A graph showing the historical population of Saudi Arabia

Template:Historical populations As of 2022, the country had a reported population of 32,175,224.<ref name="GAS">Template:Cite web</ref>

Age structure

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Provisional Estimates):<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	20 231 425	14 781 989	35 013 414	Template:Percentage bar
0–4	1 477 523	1 421 656	2 899 179	Template:Percentage bar
5–9	1 536 843	1 479 509	3 016 352	Template:Percentage bar
10–14	1 343 659	1 297 303	2 640 962	Template:Percentage bar
15–19	1 228 939	1 177 551	2 406 490	Template:Percentage bar
20–24	1 429 072	1 248 976	2 678 048	Template:Percentage bar
25–29	1 850 713	1 492 533	3 343 246	Template:Percentage bar
30–34	2 002 357	1 393 121	3 395 478	Template:Percentage bar
35–39	2 394 363	1 414 266	3 808 629	Template:Percentage bar
40–44	2 181 209	1 227 215	3 408 424	Template:Percentage bar
45–49	1 676 347	850 177	2 526 524	Template:Percentage bar
50–54	1 208 823	549 702	1 758 525	Template:Percentage bar
55–59	807 534	404 701	1 212 235	Template:Percentage bar
60–64	500 209	296 964	797 173	Template:Percentage bar
65-69	241 585	201 494	443 079	Template:Percentage bar
70-74	153 697	140 182	293 879	Template:Percentage bar
75-79	94 134	82 602	176 736	Template:Percentage bar
80+	104 418	104 037	208 455	Template:Percentage bar
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	4 358 025	4 198 468	8 556 493	Template:Percentage bar
15–64	15 279 566	10 055 206	25 334 772	Template:Percentage bar
65+	593 834	528 315	1 122 149	Template:Percentage bar

According to the CIA World Factbook the population of Saudi Arabia has a large young population ages 0–19 years and an increasing middle-age population ages 20–35 years.<ref name="CIA"/> With a growing population reaching adulthood, global economists and the Saudi government have become concerned that there are more Saudis seeking jobs than are available.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> The nation has also seen a rise in its older population as life expectancy has risen throughout the last 40 years.<ref name=":2" />

Density

Population Density: 15.322 people per km² of land (2017)<ref name="data.worldbank.org"/>

Urbanization

The following data has been retrieved from the CIA World Factbook:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Urban population: 85% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization: 1.69% annual rate of change (2020–25 est.)

Historically, some of the population of Saudi Arabia followed a nomadic lifestyle, while most lived in villages and small towns ran by emirs. Following the discovery of oil in the 1930s, the Kingdom became far more settled as people moved to centers of high economic activity.<ref name="CIA"/> Significant population growth can be seen in the rise of urbanization throughout Saudi Arabia, which has grown 2 percent in the past ten years.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> The largest Saudi cities have become flooded with new residents as more people move to urban cities to find better employment opportunities, and overcrowding has become a major issue across the nation.<ref name=":1" />

Vital statistics

Births and deaths<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> <ref name="database_stats_gov_sa" />

Year	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	TFR	Saudi TFR	Non-Saudi TFR
2011	25,091,867							2.814	3.792	1.309
2012	26,168,861							2.797	3.735	1.370
2013	27,624,004							2.689	3.641	1.351
2014	28,309,273							2.695	3.625	1.380
2015	29,816,382							2.646	3.520	1.440
2016	30,954,198							2.665	3.470	1.577
2017	30,977,355							2.686	3.462	1.681
2018	30,196,281							2.683	3.383	1.659
2019	30,063,799							2.510	3.163	1.482
2020	31,552,510							2.289	2.985	1.167
2021	30,784,383							2.189	2.792	1.072
2022	32,175,224	484,719<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>			15.1			2.135	2.798	0.905
2023	33,702,731							2.0	2.8	0.9
2024	35,300,280							2.0	2.7	0.8

Saudi Arabia is ranked 111th in comparison to the world with a birth rate of 18.51 births per 1,000 people in 2019.<ref name="CIA" /> The nation's death rate is ranked 220th worldwide with 3.3 deaths per 1,000 people.<ref name="CIA"/> Although birth rates have decreased in the last two decades, rates of decline fail to match the significant decline in death rates.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Because of this, Saudi Arabia has experienced a population explosion in the last 40 years,<ref name="Zuhur, Sherifa 2011"/> and continues to grow at a rate of 1.63% per year.<ref name="CIA"/> Saudi Arabia's population growth continues to be 0.295% higher than population growth rates in the Middle East and North Africa.<ref>"Population Growth (Annual %)." Population Growth (Annual %) | Data, World Bank, data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.GROW?end=2017&locations=ZQ-SA-US&start=1995.</ref> Infant mortality rates have declined dramatically in the past twenty years from 25.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1995 to 6.3 deaths in 2017, according to the World Bank.<ref>"Mortality Rate, Infant (per 1,000 Live Births)." World Bank: Infant Mortality, World Bank, data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?end=2017&locations=SA-ZQ&start=1995.</ref> Saudi Arabia has a substantially lower infant mortality rate in comparison to the Middle East and North Africa region, which continues to face a high of 19.3 deaths for every 1,000 live births as of 2017. This significant reduction can be attributed to rising access to modern healthcare across the country, ranking 26th worldwide for healthcare system quality.<ref>Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, "1st Voluntary National Review." Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations High-Level Political Forum, 2017, pp 45-46.</ref> The construction of new hospitals and primary healthcare centers across the Kingdom, as well as healthcare during pregnancy and increased use of vaccinations account for a decline in infant mortality and increased life expectancy.<ref>Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, "1st Voluntary National Review." Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations High-Level Political Forum, 2017, pp 46-48</ref>

UN estimates

The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. Population estimates account for under numeration in population censuses.<ref>Template:Cite UN WPP</ref>

	Mid-year population (thousands)	Live births (thousands)	Deaths (thousands)	Natural change (thousands)	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate (TFR)	Infant mortality (per 1000 live births)	Life expectancy (in years)
1950	3 090	165	77	88	53.3	24.8	28.5	7.58	196.4	40.99
1951	3 184	169	79	90	53.2	24.9	28.3	7.58	194.7	41.21
1952	3 279	174	80	93	52.9	24.5	28.4	7.58	191.4	41.73
1953	3 377	178	81	97	52.8	24.1	28.6	7.59	188.0	42.29
1954	3 478	183	82	100	52.5	23.7	28.8	7.59	184.7	42.84
1955	3 582	187	83	104	52.3	23.3	29.1	7.59	181.5	43.33
1956	3 690	192	84	108	52.0	22.8	29.3	7.59	178.2	43.87
1957	3 802	197	85	112	51.9	22.3	29.5	7.60	175.0	44.41
1958	3 917	202	86	117	51.6	21.9	29.8	7.60	171.7	44.88
1959	4 037	208	87	121	51.5	21.5	30.0	7.62	168.5	45.34
1960	4 166	214	87	126	51.3	21.0	30.4	7.63	165.3	45.94
1961	4 306	220	88	132	51.2	20.5	30.7	7.63	162.0	46.48
1962	4 459	227	89	138	51.0	20.0	31.1	7.64	158.8	47.10
1963	4 622	235	90	145	51.0	19.5	31.5	7.65	155.4	47.61
1964	4 795	244	91	153	51.0	19.1	31.9	7.67	151.9	48.15
1965	4 979	252	92	160	50.8	18.5	32.2	7.66	148.1	48.78
1966	5 173	261	93	168	50.6	18.1	32.6	7.66	144.0	49.34
1967	5 381	271	94	178	50.6	17.5	33.1	7.66	139.5	50.05
1968	5 605	281	94	187	50.3	16.8	33.5	7.63	134.5	50.92
1969	5 845	291	94	198	50.0	16.1	33.9	7.60	129.2	51.82
1970	6 106	303	93	209	49.8	15.4	34.5	7.58	123.6	52.72
1971	6 397	315	93	223	49.6	14.6	35.0	7.56	117.8	53.77
1972	6 724	330	92	237	49.4	13.8	35.6	7.54	111.8	54.79
1973	7 089	345	91	253	49.0	13.0	36.0	7.48	105.6	55.93
1974	7 484	361	91	270	48.6	12.2	36.4	7.43	99.6	57.02
1975	7 898	378	90	287	48.2	11.5	36.7	7.37	94.1	58.07
1976	8 320	387	90	297	46.9	10.8	36.0	7.33	88.6	58.97
1977	8 755	397	88	309	45.7	10.1	35.6	7.30	83.5	59.95
1978	9 211	409	87	322	44.7	9.5	35.3	7.26	78.7	60.87
1979	9 682	422	86	336	43.9	8.9	35.0	7.23	74.1	61.70
1980	10 172	436	84	352	43.2	8.3	34.9	7.19	69.6	62.70
1981	10 678	450	83	367	42.5	7.8	34.6	7.13	65.4	63.47
1982	11 201	464	82	383	41.7	7.3	34.4	7.05	61.4	64.30
1983	11 746	478	81	398	41.0	6.9	34.1	6.95	57.6	65.05
1984	12 310	492	80	412	40.2	6.6	33.6	6.84	54.0	65.69
1985	12 890	504	80	424	39.3	6.2	33.1	6.70	50.6	66.33
1986	13 483	514	79	435	38.4	5.9	32.5	6.55	47.3	66.92
1987	14 090	523	79	444	37.3	5.6	31.7	6.36	44.1	67.40
1988	14 714	533	78	455	36.4	5.3	31.1	6.17	41.1	67.97
1989	15 353	541	77	463	35.4	5.1	30.4	6.00	38.3	68.49
1990	16 005	547	77	470	34.4	4.8	29.6	5.83	35.6	68.95
1991	16 654	554	77	477	33.4	4.7	28.8	5.66	33.1	69.37
1992	17 281	558	76	482	32.4	4.4	28.0	5.49	30.9	69.93
1993	17 846	563	76	487	31.5	4.3	27.3	5.32	28.8	70.30
1994	18 368	564	75	489	30.8	4.1	26.7	5.14	26.9	70.71
1995	18 889	566	75	491	30.0	4.0	26.0	4.95	25.2	71.01
1996	19 410	570	75	495	29.4	3.9	25.5	4.77	23.6	71.27
1997	19 938	576	76	500	28.9	3.8	25.1	4.59	22.1	71.48
1998	20 473	582	75	507	28.5	3.7	24.8	4.42	20.8	71.88
1999	21 010	588	75	513	28.0	3.6	24.4	4.25	19.6	72.14
2000	21 547	596	75	521	27.7	3.5	24.2	4.12	18.5	72.47
2001	22 086	593	73	519	26.9	3.3	23.5	3.91	17.5	72.97
2002	22 623	586	73	513	25.9	3.2	22.7	3.71	16.5	73.34
2003	23 151	574	72	502	24.8	3.1	21.7	3.50	15.6	73.63
2004	23 662	563	70	493	23.8	3.0	20.8	3.34	14.8	74.15
2005	24 398	557	70	487	23.1	2.9	20.2	3.24	14.0	74.59
2006	25 383	581	70	511	23.1	2.8	20.3	3.21	13.2	74.81
2007	26 400	608	71	537	23.2	2.7	20.5	3.18	12.5	75.05
2008	27 437	619	72	547	22.7	2.6	20.1	3.06	11.8	75.27
2009	28 484	630	73	557	22.3	2.6	19.7	2.95	11.2	75.43
2010	29 412	641	73	568	21.9	2.5	19.4	2.85	10.5	75.76
2011	30 151	651	73	579	21.6	2.4	19.2	2.81	9.8	76.23
2012	30 822	654	74	580	21.2	2.4	18.8	2.78	9.3	76.46
2013	31 482	653	77	576	20.8	2.4	18.3	2.74	8.8	76.63
2014	32 126	647	80	567	20.2	2.5	17.7	2.69	8.2	76.76
2015	32 750	639	83	556	19.5	2.5	17.0	2.64	7.8	76.92
2016	33 416	632	87	545	19.0	2.6	16.4	2.59	7.3	77.06
2017	34 193	644	90	554	18.9	2.6	16.3	2.58	6.9	77.16
2018	35 018	653	93	560	18.7	2.7	16.0	2.55	6.6	77.21
2019	35 827	659	95	564	18.5	2.7	15.8	2.50	6.3	77.30
2020	35 997	666	106	560	18.2	2.9	15.3	2.47	6.0	76.24
2021	35 950	629	103	526	17.5	2.9	14.6	2.43	5.7	76.94

Life expectancy at birth

File:Life expectancy in Saudi Arabia.svg

Life expectancy in Saudi Arabia

The following data has been retrieved from the CIA World Factbook as of 2018.

Total population:

Male: 74.2 years

Female: 77.3 years

Nationality and ethnicity

The ethnic composition of Saudi citizens is 90% Arabs and 10% Afro-Arabs,<ref name="CIATONGA">Template:Cite web</ref> though there still are smaller numbers of Indians,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pakistanis,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Turks in Saudi Arabia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, 38.3% of the residents(or about 13.3 million people) are non-citizens,<ref name="CIA" /> and many of them are migrant workers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Languages

The official language of Saudi Arabia is Arabic. Saudi Sign Language is the principal language of the deaf community. The large expatriate communities also speak their own languages, the most numerous of which are Urdu (4,000,000) which after Arabic is widely used especially among the South Asian community, which makes the largest community of expatriate, Bengali (2,500,000), Indonesian (850,000), Filipino/Tagalog (700,000), Malayalam (447,000), Rohingya (400,000), and Egyptian Arabic (300,000).<ref name="HRW">Template:CitationTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Saudi Arabia Template:Webarchive. Ethnologue</ref><ref>Kerala Gulf diaspora</ref>Template:Circular reference

Religion

The government does not ask about religion on their census surveys. However, according to official statistics, in 2020, 85-90% of Saudi Arabian citizens were Sunni Muslims, 10-12% are Shia.<ref name=factbook>Template:Cite web</ref> The rest are other forms of Islamic minorities. Other smaller communities reside in the south, with Ismaili Shia's constituting around half of the population of the province of Nejran, and a small percentage of the Holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina.

In 2022, there is a Christian population in the country of approximately 2.1 million; there are also groups of Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs in the country.<ref>US State Dept 2022 report</ref>

According to a poll in 2013 by WIN-Gallup International, 5% of 502 Saudi Arabians surveyed stated they were "convinced atheists".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2022, the kingdom's total population was approximately 35 million; it was estimated that of these, over one-third were foreign workers.<ref>US State Dept 2022 report</ref>

Migration

File:Al Masjid Nabavi Madina pakistani labor - panoramio.jpg

Pakistani workers at Al Masjid Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque) in Medina

Migration is a significant part of Saudi Arabia's tradition and culture, as the nation's thriving oil economy attracts large numbers of foreign workers from an assortment of countries throughout Asia and the Arab world.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref> Following economic diversification in response to the oil boom of the 1970s, the Saudi government encouraged skilled and semi-skilled workers to enter the Kingdom as the demand for infrastructure and development intensified.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Saudi Arabia is among the top five immigrant destination countries around the world, currently hosting 5.3 million international migrants in its borders. In 2017, non-native residents accounted for 38% of the Kingdom's total population, more than twice that of the United States whose immigrants make up 15% of the nation's total population.<ref>"International Migration Report 2017." Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, 2017, www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2017_Highlights.pdf.</ref> The majority of Saudi Arabia's foreign born population are males between the ages of 25 and 45. These immigrants make up a larger percentage of the total population in this age group compared to native-born Saudis ages 25–45, according to the United Nations 2013 report.<ref name="Migration Profile 2013">"Migration Profile: Saudi Arabia ." UNICEF, United Nations, 2013, esa.un.org/miggmgprofiles/indicators/files/saudiarabia.pdf.</ref> 26.3% of the total migrant population in Saudi Arabia are from India, followed by Pakistan (24.2%), Bangladesh (19.5%), Egypt (19.3%), and finally the Philippines (15.3%).<ref name="Migration Profile 2013"/> Most immigrants of the Kingdom are skilled, unskilled, and service industry foreign workers. Although the living and working conditions for immigrant workers are harsh in Saudi Arabia, economic opportunity tends to be much greater than in their homelands.<ref name=":3" /> There are around five million illegal immigrants in Saudi Arabia, most of which come from Africa and Asia. These immigrants are planned to be deported within the next few years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are over 118,000 Westerners in Saudi Arabia, most of whom live in compounds or gated communities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Foreign residents in Saudi Arabia

Nationality	2020 Census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Other sources
Template:Flagicon India	2,502,337	2,592,166<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Bangladesh	1,277,624	2,500,000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Syria	823,261	2,500,000<ref name="huffingtonpost.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bloomberg.com">Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagicon Yemen	769,945	>2,000,000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Egypt	962,432	2,700,000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Pakistan	1,483,737	1,814,680<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Indonesia	1,701,318	1,500,000-1,753,400<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Philippines	725,890	938,490<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Sudan		819,600<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Myanmar		500,000 (Rohingya)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Jordan		430,000<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagicon Sri Lanka		400,000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Nepal		215,000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Turkey		220,000 (2019*)Template:Cn
Template:Flagicon Somalia		165,000 (1991*)<ref name="Cdsdhfc">Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagicon Lebanon		100,000<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• International Religious Freedom Report 2010