Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest state in the Arab world, with a reported population of 32,175,224 as of 2022.^[6][7] 41.6% of inhabitants are immigrants.^[8] Saudi Arabia has experienced a population explosion in the last 40 years,^[9] and continues to grow at a rate of 1.62% per year.^[8]

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.^[10] 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.^[11] According to a random survey, most non-citizens living in Saudi Arabia come from the Indian Subcontinent and Arab countries.^[12] Many Arabs from nearby countries are employed in the country, particularly Egyptians,^[13] as the Egyptian community developed from the 1950s onwards.^[14] 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) as of 2005^[update].^[15][16] 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.

As of 2022, the country had a reported population of 32,175,224.^[19]

Structure

The following data has been retrieved from the CIA World Factbook as of 2020:

Population age distribution

0–14 years: 24.84%

15–24 years: 15.38%

25–54 years: 50.2%

55–64 years: 5.95%

65 years and over: 3.63%

Sex ratios

at 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

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.^[8] 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.^[20] The nation has also seen a rise in its older population as life expectancy has risen throughout the last 40 years.^[20]

Life expectancy at birth

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

Total population:

Male: 74.2 years

Female: 77.3 years

Births and deaths^{[21][22] [23]}

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Provisional Estimates):^[25]

The following data has been retrieved from the CIA World Factbook as of 2020:

• Birth rate: 14.7 births/1,000 population ^[8]
• Death rate: 3.4 deaths/1,000 population
• Maternal mortality rate: 17 deaths/100,000 live births
• Infant mortality rate:
  • male: 12.2 deaths/1,000 live births
  • female: 10.4 deaths/1,000 live births
• Total fertility rate: 1.95 children born/woman^[26]

Saudi Arabia is ranked 111th in comparison to the world with a birth rate of 18.51 births per 1,000 people in 2019.^[8] The nation's death rate is ranked 220th worldwide with 3.3 deaths per 1,000 people.^[8] Although birth rates have decreased in the last two decades, rates of decline fail to match the significant decline in death rates.^[27] Because of this, Saudi Arabia has experienced a population explosion in the last 40 years,^[9] and continues to grow at a rate of 1.63% per year.^[8] Saudi Arabia's population growth continues to be 0.295% higher than population growth rates in the Middle East and North Africa.^[28] 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.^[29] 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.^[30] 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.^[31]

UN estimates

The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. Population estimates account for under numeration in population censuses.^[32]

More information Mid-year population (thousands), Live births (thousands) ...

	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

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Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

The following data has been retrieved from the CIA World Factbook:^[35]

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.^[8] Significant population growth can be seen in the rise of urbanization throughout Saudi Arabia, which has grown 2 percent in the past ten years.^[36] 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.^[36]

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.^[26] 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.^[37] 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.^[38] 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.^[39] 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%).^[39] 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.^[26] 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.^[40] There are over 118,000 Westerners in Saudi Arabia, most of whom live in compounds or gated communities.^[41]

People from other immigration jurisdictions

More information Nationality, Residents ...

Nationality	Residents
Egypt	2,700,000[42]
Pakistan	2,700,000[43]
India	2,592,166[44]
Bangladesh	2,500,000[45]
Yemen	>2,000,000[46]
Syria	2,500,000[47][48]
Indonesia	1,500,000[49]
Philippines	938,490[50]
Sudan	819,600[51]
Myanmar	500,000 (Rohingya)[52][53]
Jordan	430,000[54]
Sri Lanka	400,000[55]
Turkey	220,000 (2019*)[citation needed]
Nepal	215,000[56]
Somalia	165,000 (1991*)[57]
Lebanon	100,000[58]

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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.^[59] 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.^[60]

According to a poll in 2013 by WIN-Gallup International, 5% of 502 Saudi Arabians surveyed stated they were "convinced atheists".^[61][62]

In 2022, the kingdom's total population was approximately 35 million; it was estimated that of these, over one-third were foreign workers.^[63]

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, Indonesian (850,000), Filipino/Tagalog (700,000), Malayalam (447,000), Rohingya (400,000), and Egyptian Arabic (300,000).^{[64][65][66][circular reference]}