JEDDAH -- The early numbers are in from this year's census with Saudi males holding a slight numerical edge over Saudi females and fewer expat workers residing in the Kingdom.
Preliminary results of this year's general census estimates the total number of expatriates in the Kingdom at 6.14 million, much lower than the 8.8 million official figure given earlier by the labor minister.
The month-long census, which started Sept. 15, put the Kingdom's total population at more than 22 million.
"The total population of Saudi Arabia reached 22,673,538 on the day of the census," the Saudi Press Agency reported, quoting the General Statistics Department.
The number of Saudis totaled 16,529,302, representing 72.9 percent of the population.
"There are 8,285,662 male Saudis, who represent 50.1 percent of the total Saudi population," the department reported.
The number of Saudi females is 8,243,640.
The census counted the number of expatriates at 6,144,236. The figure negated press reports quoting Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi who said in May that there are 8.8 million expatriates in the country.
According to the new census, 4,271,598 foreigners in Saudi Arabia are males and 1,872,638 females.
The census estimated the number of houses and residential flats in the Kingdom at 3,990,559. "Detailed results of the census will be published soon after the work has been completed," the department announced.
Some 42,000 officials, mostly teachers, took part in the month-long exercise, which is vital to the Kingdom's long-range planning. "The census is an important project, as it is essential to work out plans for future," said Economy and Planning Minister Khaled Al-Gosaibi when launching the project. "The Kingdom's Eighth Development Plan (2005-2010) will rely heavily on the data we collect through this census," the planning minister said.
According to the last census taken in 1992, the population of Saudi Arabia amounted to 12,304,000 Saudis and 4,625,000 foreigners. Riyadh and Jeddah had populations of more than two million each.
The population in other main cities including Makkah, Madinah, Dammam, Jubail, Yanbu, Al-Ahsa, Buraidah, Tabuk, Taif, Hail and Abha ranged between 500,000 and a million. Seventy-five percent of the population is concentrated in the cities.
Some 10 million foreigners now live in Gulf Cooperation Council states, constituting a significant portion of the region's population. The presence of expatriates in these states range from 25 percent of the population in Oman to 80 percent of the population in the United Arab Emirates.
As the largest state in the GCC with the largest expat population, the Kingdom's efforts to Saudize its work force will have the most visible impact on the region's economy and demographics.
Only 15 percent of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia are engaged in skilled labor industries (oil, health care, finance and trading), while the majority are employed in industries with a need for low-skilled labor (agriculture, cleaning and domestic service). Expatriates from Europe and North America dominate high-skilled positions.
Recent figures indicate that Saudi Arabia has between 1 and 1.5 million expatriates each from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, and around 900,000 workers from the Philippines. Together, these communities account for more than half of Saudi Arabia's expatriate population.
P.K. Abdul Ghafour
© Arab News 2004
