Saudi Arabia People - 2023

Population

35,939,806 (2023 est.)

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

Nationality

noun: Saudi(s)

adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian

Ethnic groups

Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

Languages

Arabic (official)

major-language sample(s):
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)

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Religions

Muslim (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-12% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2020 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 structure

0-14 years: 23.45% (male 4,298,399/female 4,130,547)

15-64 years: 72.36% (male 15,251,742/female 10,752,649)

65 years and over: 4.19% (2023 est.) (male 799,270/female 707,199)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 40.4

youth dependency ratio: 36.8

elderly dependency ratio: 3.7

potential support ratio: 27.4 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 30.8 years

male: 33 years

female: 27.9 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

1.65% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

13.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

3.45 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

historically 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

Urbanization

urban population: 85% of total population (2023)

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

Major urban areas - population

7.682 million RIYADH (capital), 4.863 million Jeddah, 2.150 million Mecca, 1.573 million Medina, 1.329 million Ad Dammam, 872,000 million Hufuf-Mubarraz (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

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

15-64 years: 1.42 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female

total population: 1.31 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

16 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 11.97 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 13.16 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.91 years

male: 75.33 years

female: 78.56 years (2023 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.89 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

0.92 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

27.9% (2019)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

5.5% of GDP (2018)

Physicians density

2.74 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

2.2 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

35.4% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 14.3% (2020 est.)

male: 26.5% (2020 est.)

female: 2% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

N/A

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

63.2% (2023 est.)

Education expenditures

7.8% of GDP (2020) NA

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.6%

male: 98.6%

female: 96% (2020)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 17 years

male: 17 years

female: 16 years (2021)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 28.8%

male: 22.4%

female: 47.9% (2021 est.)