RIYADH, 26 October — The capital city is well on way to become the first mega city of the region with its population projected to exceed 11.1 million by 2020.
The projected figure will account for 33-36% of the country’s total population and it will be one of the highest ratios of capital to national population in the world. The current population of Riyadh is 4.5 million, including expatriates.
"The population growth rate of Riyadh city is 8.1 percent annually, which is one of the highest in the world", says a new book entitled "Investment Atmosphere in Riyadh City." The Kingdom’s overall population is growing at a rate of 3.6 percent annually.
Asian expatriates , the book said, represent 50 percent of the population. The average age of the population is 22 years with 50 percent reported to be under 20.
According to the book, only two percent of the population is over 60 with the average age of Saudi males and females estimated at 18 and 17 years respectively.
The average age of non-Saudis was put at 32 for males and 29 for females.
Another study conducted by Arriyadh Development Authority revealed that the growth of Riyadh’s population is triggered not only by natural reasons but also by a continuing wave of migration of Saudis from other parts of the Kingdom.
The study observed that Riyadh’s population has increased by 120 percent in 10 years.
Government and private sector efforts are under way to develop Riyadh’s infrastructure to cope with the growing demand. A project is being implemented to develop a 300 million sqm plot at Thummaah, west of Riyadh. This is in addition to an SR1billion tourism project, which is proposed to be set up by Dallah Al-Baraka Group.
