Understanding Saudi demography

Few weeks ago, I was invited to attend the C3 Arab-US Business Summit and Saudi-US Commerce. However, due to some reasons, I was unable to attend the event.
Anyway, I tried to catch up with the discussions that had taken place during the event by reading the reports posted on the SUSRIS website. I read with great interest answers to many questions hurled at the president of the Saudi-US Trade Group, Richard Wilson.
Many Saudi-related issues came under discussion but to me the most important was about Saudi demographics because it is one of the most important reasons behind unemployment in the Kingdom.
And I agree with some of the views expressed during the event especially regarding seeing the Saudi economic policies driven by the reality of the Saudi youth demography. I must add that the Saudi people should contribute to resolving the issues facing the government in planning for future due to the unique Saudi demography.
Saudi population is approaching 30 million people. Around 20 millions are Saudis and the rest are from many different parts of the world and this does not include overstayers or illegals.
But, in general, the number of Saudis and expats should be no economic burden on a country that has the strongest economy in the region and also it should not be seen as a problem to accommodate or finding enough housing facilities for these millions in such a huge country. So, why population growth and the lack of housing units are being portrayed as major issues facing Saudi Arabia and why foreign analysts consider these two topics sensitive to address while in the Kingdom?
I have written many articles on these issues. So, may be the topics are sensitive but we always talk and write about them. As for the population growth, we do have a major issue in the Kingdom. Fifty percent are younger than 24 and what is more, sixty percent are younger than 30. And as for the housing issue, the price of real state is one of the highest in the world and simply put, owning a house is not cheap and the government is simply trying hard to ease the problem by injecting billions to help the general public own a home through the Ministry of Housing.
But, frankly put, we the Saudis have the highest birth rate and thus many Saudis would seek bigger houses, which at the end of the day, requires higher electric bills and more money for maintenance. Saudi families should promote family planning for a better future. Raising and educating children is time consuming, requires lots of patience and of course more money. The larger the family, the bigger the house needed.
As for the Saudi youth, we should improve the education environment and should teach them the importance of being responsible and aware of many chances and opportunities provided to them by the government.
They should be made aware of the many employment opportunities, which are available to them through the numerous mega projects. First, the Saudi youth should be exposed to best work ethics. Nowadays, we see a drive for the Saudization of the job market but at the same time we see an increase in the number of visas issued to various major companies around the Kingdom. At the end of the day, it is the duty of the young Saudis to prove themselves and to make it worthwhile to hire more Saudis because of their talents and work ethics and not because of administrative directives. Our youth should work harder because we have a unique demography and we still have the highest birth rate.
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