This article is about the demographic features of the population of Saudi Arabia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

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

Population pyramid.

Saudi Arabia's July 2006 population is estimated to be over 27 million; including about 5.5 million resident foreigners. Until the 1960s, most of the population was nomadic or seminomadic; due to rapid economic and urban growth, more than 95% of the population now is settled. Some cities and oases have densities of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer (2,600/mile²). Saudi Arabia's population is characterized by rapid growth and a large cohort of youths.

Saudi Arabia is known as the birthplace of Islam, which in the century following Muhammad's death in 632, conquered territory west up to Spain and east up to India. Islam 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 a strict interpretation of Islamic religious law (Shari'a). Cultural presentations must conform to narrowly defined standards of ethics. Men and women are not permitted to attend public events together and are segregated in the work place.

Most Saudis are ethnically Arab. Some are of mixed ethnic origin and are descended from Turks, Iranians, Indonesians, Indians, Africans, and others, most of whom immigrated as pilgrims and reside in the Hijaz region along the Red Sea coast. Many Arabs from nearby countries are employed in the kingdom. There also are significant numbers of Asian expatriates mostly from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.^{[citation needed]} In the 1970s and 1980s, there was also a significant community of South Korean migrant labourers, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, but most have since returned home; the South Korean government's statistics showed only 1,200 of their nationals living in the kingdom as of 2005^[update].^[1][2] There are more than 100,000 Westerners in Saudi Arabia, most of who live in private compounds in the major cities such as Dhahran, Riyadh, and Jeddah. The government prohibits non-Muslims from living in Mecca and Medinah.

[edit] CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

[edit] Age structure

10-14 years: 38.2% (male 5,149,960/female 4,952,138)
15-64 years: 59.4% (male 8,992,348/female 6,698,633)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 334,694/female 289,826) (2007 est.)

[edit] Median age

total: 21.5 years male: 22 years female: 19 years (2007)

[edit] Population growth rate

1.848% (2009 est.)

[edit] Birth rate

28.55 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

[edit] Death rate

2.49 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

[edit] Net migration rate

-7.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

[edit] Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.34 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female
total population: 1.21 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

[edit] Infant mortality rate

total: 11.57 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

[edit] Life expectancy at birth

total:^[3] 76.3 years male: 74.23 years female: 78.48 years (2009 est.)

[edit] Total fertility rate

3.83 children born/woman (2009 est.)

[edit] Urbanisation

82% of total population (2008)

[edit] Nationality

noun: Saudi(s)
adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian

[edit] Ethnic groups

Arab 90%, other^[specify] 10% (Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos and others)

Harb........4,000,000 Indian......1,500,000 Pakistani...1,100,000 Indonesian....850,000..(2004) Turkish.......200,000 Iraqi..........33,000 Others.....20,803,633

[edit] Religion

95% are Sunni and 5% are Shia. Shia are concentrated primarily in the Eastern Province, where they constituted perhaps 33 percent of the population, being concentrated in the oases of Qatif and Al Ahsa.

Many foreign workers are non-Muslim, practicing mainly Christianity, Buddhism or Hinduism.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/14012.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2002
• http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35507.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2004
• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html CIA World factbook 2005: Saudi Arabia