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Saudi Arabia Demographics Profile

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Population34,783,757 (July 2021 est.)

note: immigrants make up 38.3% of the total population, according to UN data (2019)
Nationalitynoun: Saudi(s)

adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Ethnic groupsArab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
LanguagesArabic (official)

major-language sample(s):
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ReligionsMuslim (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-15% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2012 est.)

note: despite having a large expatriate community of various faiths (more than 30% of the population), most forms of public religious expression inconsistent with the government-sanctioned interpretation of Sunni Islam are restricted; non-Muslims are not allowed to have Saudi citizenship and non-Muslim places of worship are not permitted (2013)
Age structure0-14 years: 24.84% (male 4,327,830/female 4,159,242)

15-24 years: 15.38% (male 2,741,371/female 2,515,188)

25-54 years: 50.2% (male 10,350,028/female 6,804,479)

55-64 years: 5.95% (male 1,254,921/female 778,467)

65 years and over: 3.63% (male 657,395/female 584,577) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 39.3

youth dependency ratio: 34.4

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.5 (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 30.8 years

male: 33 years

female: 27.9 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.62% (2021 est.)
Birth rate14.56 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate5.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Population distributionhistorically a population that was mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic, the Saudi population has become more settled since petroleum was discovered in the 1930s; most of the economic activities - and with it the country's population - is concentrated in a wide area across the middle of the peninsula, from Ad Dammam in the east, through Riyadh in the interior, to Mecca-Medina in the west near the Red Sea
Urbanizationurban population: 84.5% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.69% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major cities - population7.388 million RIYADH (capital), 4.697 million Jeddah, 2.079 million Mecca, 1.518 million Medina, 1.279 million Ad Dammam, 1.279 million Hufuf-Mubarraz (2021)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.09 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.52 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.61 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female

total population: 1.3 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Maternal mortality rate17 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 12.58 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 11.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 76.4 years

male: 74.81 years

female: 78.07 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.95 children born/woman (2021 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate24.6% (2016)
Drinking water sourceimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
Health expenditures6.4% (2018)
Physicians density2.61 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density2.2 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS12,000 (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths<200 (2020 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate35.4% (2016)
Education expendituresNA
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.3%

male: 97.1%

female: 92.7% (2017)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 17 years

male: 16 years

female: 16 years (2019)

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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