Demographics
The population of Saudi Arabia as of July 2010 is estimated to be 25,731,776 including 5,576,076 non-nationals In 1950, Saudi Arabia had a population of 3 million. The ethnic composition of Saudi nationals is 90% Arab and 10% Afro-Arab. Until the 1960s, a majority of the population was nomadic; but presently more than 95% of the population is settled, due to rapid economic and urban growth. As recently as the early 1960s, the Saudi Arabia's slave population was estimated at 300,000. Slavery was officially abolished in 1962.
About 31% of the population is made up of foreign nationals living in Saudi Arabia. Indian: 1.3 million, Pakistani: 900,000, Egyptian: 900,000, Yemeni: 800,000, Bangladeshi: 500,000, Filipino: 500,000, Jordanian/Palestinian: 260,000, Indonesian: 250,000, Sri Lankan: 350,000, Sudanese: 250,000, Syrian: 100,000 and Turkish: 100,000. There are around 100,000 Westerners in Saudi Arabia, most of whom live in compounds or gated communities.
Saudi Arabia expelled 800,000 Yemenis in 1990 and 1991. An estimated 240,000 Palestinians are living in Saudi Arabia. They are not allowed to hold or even apply for Saudi citizenship, because of Arab League instructions barring the Arab states from granting them citizenship. Palestinians are the sole foreign group that cannot benefit from a 2004 law passed by Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers, which entitles expatriates of all nationalities who have resided in the kingdom for ten years to apply for citizenship with priority being given to holders of degrees in various scientific fields. The Articles 12.4 and 14.1 of the Executive Regulation of Saudi Citizenship System can be interpreted as requiring applicants to be Muslim.
In a 2011 news story, Arab News reported, "Nearly three million expatriate workers will have to leave the Kingdom in the next few years as the Labor Ministry has put a 20% ceiling on the country's guest workers."
Read more about this topic: Subdivisions Of Saudi Arabia