The Makkah Region has the largest population in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at 5.8 million, or 25.6 percent of the 22.67 million national population, according to the preliminary results of the recently concluded Third National Census of Population and Housing. The Makkah Region has a population of 5,797,9719, followed by Riyadh Region at 5,455,363 or 24.1 percent and the Eastern Province at 3,360,157 or 14.8 percent, according to the census figures released by the Central Statistics Department of the Ministry of Economy and Planning. Saudi Arabia's population has reached 22.67 million, including 6.14 million expatriates, according to the census results, published today by Saudi Gazette. The expatriate population was put at 6,144,236 in the 2004 Census, or 27.1 percent of the Kingdom's total population. In 1992, the number of expatriates living in the Kingdom was put at 4,638,335and at 791,105 in 1974. The recent census, which was carried out in September, was the first since the 1992 count that placed the total number of population at 16.95 million. Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said there are about 8.8 million foreigners in the Kingdom. The preliminary census findings showed that the number of Saudis in the Kingdom has reached 16,529,302, or 72.9 percent of the total. There were 12,310,053 Saudis in 1992 and 6,218,361 in 1974, according to the census made during those years. This shows an increase in Saudi population by 4,219,249 from 1992 to 2004, or a growth of 24.3 percent from 1992 and 165.8 percent against the 1974 census. City-wise, the Saudi capital ranked first with a population of 4,087,152 people, followed by Jeddah at 2,801,481, Makkah at 1,294,106, Madina at 918,889, Dammam at 744,321 and Taif at 521,273. The combined Saudi population in the three administrative regions Makkah, Riyadh and Eastern Province, which are considered to be the major development centers constituted 59.7 percent of the Kingdom's population, said Rashood M. Khraif, professor of Population Geography at the King Saud University in Riyadh. Of the total Saudi population, Riyadh Region comprised 22.5 percent while Makkah accounted for 21.7 percent, the Eastern Province 15.5 percent, Asir 8.7 percent and Madinah 6.9 percent. The Saudi population in other regions ranged from 0.6 percent in Jizan and 1.5 in the northern borders area. A lot of funds had been spent on the third national census project and its outcomes hould be published in detail in the media, including the Internet, he said. Census results showed that Assir region ranked fourth with a population of 7.4 percent, followed by Madinah at 6.7 percent, Jizan at 5.2 percent, Qassim at 3.1 percent, Hail 2.4 at percent, Najran at 1.8 percent, Al-Baha at 1.7 percent, Al-Jouf at 1.6 percent and the northern border regions of the country at 1.2 percent. The largest concentration of expatriates in the Kingdom is in the cities like Makkah, Riyadh, the Eastern Province and Madinah, which had 83.2 percent of the total non-Saudi population. The expatriates in Makkah represent 36 percent, Riyadh 28.1 percent, the Eastern Province 13.1 percent and Madinah six percent.
