‎“GASTAT”: Saudi Arabia’s population hits 32.2 million.. ‎Foreigners reach 13.4 million‎

The General Authority for Statistics announced today that the population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has reached 32,175,224 people.

This came according to the main results of the Saudi census 2022, which the authority published on the census website.

The results indicated that the number of Saudis reached 18.8 million, or 58.4%, while the number of non-Saudis reached 13.4 million, or 41.6%, indicating that the number of males reached 19.7 million, or 61%, while the number of females reached 12.5 million, or 39%, and the population in the regions of Riyadh, Makkah Al-Mukarramah, and the Eastern Province accounted for 68% of the total population of the Kingdom, and Riyadh is the largest Saudi city in terms of population, followed by Jeddah, Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Medina, and Dammam.

The Kingdom is distinguished by its young population, as the average age of the population reached 29 years, and the average age of Saudis reached 25 years, and the percentage of Saudis under the age of 30 reached 63% of the total number of Saudis, while the number of dwellings in the Kingdom reached more than 8 million homes, 51% of which are apartments

With regard to family composition, the results of the census showed that the total number of Saudi families amounted to 4.2 million families, with an average size equivalent to 4.8 members per family, as the percentage of Saudi males and Saudi females converged, while the percentage of males reached 50.2% compared to 49.8% for females. While the average size of non-Saudi family members was 2.7 members per family, the percentage of males reached 76% of the total non-Saudis in the Kingdom.

On this occasion, the Minister of Economy and Planning, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Statistics, Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim, extended his thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Highness the Crown Prince – may God preserve them – for their generous guidance and unlimited support for the census project in all its stages. Pointing out that the census was completed through the highest levels of coordination and complementary work with various government agencies.

He stressed the importance of the announced results of the Saudi Census 2022; It will provide an accurate statistical database that will be used as a reliable basis for drawing up economic and social policies, supporting decision-makers in developing development plans for various sectors, measuring the performance of government agencies, and making local, regional and international comparisons with accuracy and transparency, as well as providing the private sector and local investors and international organizations with accurate data to encourage the investment environment in the Kingdom, in line with the goals and directions of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

For his part, the head of the General Authority for Statistics, Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Dosari, stated that the authority sought to keep pace with the comprehensive transformations that the Kingdom witnessed in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Since its inception, the quality and accuracy of data has increased significantly, and the level of integration and participation between government agencies. The digital infrastructure has developed in the Kingdom, which enabled the authority to follow the best international methodologies and benefit from the latest technologies in the implementation of the Saudi Census 2022, such as satellites and self-counting technology, as modern methods were used to issue statistical data, through cooperation with government agencies. Through the use of these modern methods, the Saudi Census 2022 has become the most comprehensive and the highest accurate in the history of the Kingdom, as the accuracy of the results exceeded 95%, and the methodology that was followed became The implementation of the Saudi Census 2022 is one of the best international practices, with the testimony of a large number of international experts.

In order to ensure the quality of the census data, an integrated team has been allocated to review and audit, use techniques to monitor errors and correct data automatically, make more than one million phone calls and carry out about 900,000 additional field visits to ensure the quality and accuracy of the data, in addition to using advanced methods. In data analysis and statistics, comparisons were included between five different sources of data, and the data was reviewed through more than 200 indicators to confirm its accuracy.

Al-Dosari explained that, in line with international best practices, and given the development and change in the methodology used in the implementation of the 2022 census compared to the 2010 census, which relied mainly on field and paper work, in addition to the fact that the previously published numbers from 2010 to 2022 are estimated based on the results of 2010. ; The Authority has re-estimated the population numbers in previous years based on the results of the Saudi Census 2022, being the most accurate basis for the data, and through comparison and integration with government administrative records data.

He added that the re-publishing of population estimates for previous years comes in line with the government’s directives and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. To raise the level of transparency and provide accurate data for various sectors such as the private sector and investors, stressing that all figures for previous years will be re-published on the Authority’s website.

Compared to the 2010 census, the total population has grown from 24 million in 2010 to 32.2 million in 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 2.5%, while the number of Saudis has increased from 14 million to 18.8 million, with an increase A total of 4.8 million people, and the non-Saudi population also increased from 9.9 million to 13.4 million, with a total increase of 3.5 million.

At the end of his speech, the Chairman of the Authority confirmed that the highest standards of security and safety of information and data were followed, to ensure their confidentiality and protection in coordination and coordination with the National Authority for Cybersecurity, and the commitment of the General Authority for Statistics to the highest levels of privacy and confidentiality towards the data of the participants, expressing his thanks and appreciation to citizens and residents, given For the distinguished positive interaction they showed during their participation in the census

The announcement of the results of the Saudi census 2022 included detailed data for three main axes: demographics, families, and housing, while the results related to education, health, work and income, immigration and diversity will be announced during the next few months.

In order for the authority to make the main results of the census available to all entities and individuals, it made it accessible on a census-specific website, and made it available through various means: (interactive scoreboard, an easy-to-use interactive map, reports, tables and graphs).