Saudi Arabia Human and Economic Geography
Population The Saudi population, which in 1998, according to an estimate, amounted to 20,181,000 residents, Grew at a very high rate until the beginning of the nineties, resulting more than doubled in less than twenty years (from 7,012,600 from the 1974 census to the 16,929,300 of the 1992 census). Subsequently, the increase decreased, but remained at high values (34 ‰ in the 1990-97 period) due to the strong natural balance (birth rate of 35.1 ‰ compared to a mortality that dropped to 4.7‰) and a large immigration flow. The latter is essentially made up of skilled foreign labor, whose presence is necessary for the low level of education (still in 1995 the illiterate in Saudi Arabia exceeded 37 %); this workforce, although it has not altered the ethnic fabric of…