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People
Cultural Demography
Saudi Arabia's population, totaling approximately 25 million, includes about 5.3 million non-national residents. Until the 1960s, most of the population was nomadic or semi-nomadic. With the discovery and the commercial extraction of oil came rapid economic and urban growth. The nomadic lifestyle was transformed, and now more than 95 percent of the population is settled. Some cities and oases have densities of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer (2,600 per square mile).
Ethnicity and Language
Most Saudis are ethnically Arab. The rest of the population is of mixed ethnic origin, descended from Turks, Iranians (Persians), Indonesians, Indians, Africans and others, most of whom immigrated as pilgrims and reside in the Hijaz region along the Red Sea coast. Many Arabs from nearby countries are employed in the kingdom. There also are significant numbers of expatriate workers from North America, South Asia, Europe and East Asia. Arabic is the official language.
Religion and Culture
Islam is the predominant religion. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, which spread west to Spain and east to India in the century following the Prophet Mohammed's death. Islam obliges all Muslims to make the "Hajj" (pilgrimage) to Mecca at least once during their lifetime if they are able to do so.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative Islamic countries in the world. The ruling family and the majority of the population adheres to Wahhabism -- a fundamentalist Sunni Islamic branch named after the 18th-century reformer, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who was deeply influenced by the 14th-century Hanbali scholar, Ibn Taymiyya. In 1744 C.E., Wahhab and the region's powerful Amir Muhammad Ibn Saud formed an alliance and established a theocratic state. Later conquests expanded the emirate into including the holy Islamic cities of Medina and Mecca, and the emirate later became the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
As a result of this legacy, the cultural environment in Saudi Arabia involves adherence to a strict interpretation of the code of Islamic religious law - the Shariah. Cultural presentations must conform to narrowly defined standards of ethics. Men and women are not permitted to attend public events together and are segregated in the work place. Women are not allowed to drive cars, and cannot travel without a written approval from a male family-member.
Human Development
In terms of health and welfare, the infant mortality rate in Saudi Arabia is 12.01 deaths per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth for the total population is 76 years of age -- 74 years of age for males and 78 years of age for females. The literacy rate for the total population is 78.8 percent, but it is not gender balanced. The literacy rate for males is substantially higher at 84.7 percent, in comparison with the 70.8 percent rate for females. According to recent estimations, the Saudi population grew 3.27 percent in recent years, with a high fertility rate of 6.15 children per woman.
About five percent of GDP in this country is spent on health expenditures; about 5.6 percent of GDP in this country is spent on education. Access to water and sanitation in this country is regarded to be good, with obstacles in some rural areas.
A notable measure of human development is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is formulated by the United Nations Development Program. The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 169 countries, the HDI places Saudi Arabia in the high human development category at 55th place. Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com . See Bibliography for list of general research sources.
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