Saudi Arabia: People & Society#

Population28,160,273 (July 2016 est.)
note: immigrants make up more than 30% of the total population, according to UN data (2015)
Nationalitynoun: Saudi(s)
adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Ethnic groupsArab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
LanguagesArabic (official)
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: 26.56% (male 3,835,472/female 3,644,041)
15-24 years: 18.85% (male 2,843,422/female 2,465,027)
25-54 years: 46.4% (male 7,401,654/female 5,663,769)
55-64 years: 4.86% (male 747,307/female 620,100)
65 years and over: 3.34% (male 478,244/female 461,237) (2016 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 45.9%
youth dependency ratio: 41.7%
elderly dependency ratio: 4.2%
potential support ratio: 24% (2015 est.)
Median agetotal: 27.2 years
male: 27.9 years
female: 26.2 years (2016 est.)
Population growth rate1.46% (2016 est.)
Birth rate18.4 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Death rate3.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Net migration rate-0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 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: 83.1% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major urban areas - populationRIYADH (capital) 6.195 million; Jeddah 4.076 million; Mecca 1.771 million; Medina 1.28 million; Ad Dammam 1.064 million (2015)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.15 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.31 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.21 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
total population: 1.19 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
Maternal mortality rate12 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 13.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 75.3 years
male: 73.2 years
female: 77.4 years (2016 est.)
Total fertility rate2.11 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate23.8% (2007)
Health expenditures4.7% of GDP (2014)
Physicians density2.49 physicians/1,000 population (2012)
Hospital bed density2.1 beds/1,000 population (2012)
Drinking water sourceimproved:
urban: 97% of population
rural: 97% of population
total: 97% of population
unimproved: urban: 3% of population
rural: 3% of population
total: 3% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved:
urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rateNA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDSNA
HIV/AIDS - deathsNA
Obesity - adult prevalence rate33.7% (2014)
Education expenditures5.1% of GDP (2008)
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.7%
male: 97%
female: 91.1% (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 16 years
male: 17 years
female: 15 years (2014)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24total: 30.4%
male: 21.4%
female: 57.9% (2014 est.)