Jeddah, Jun 16: Expatriates outnumber Saudis in some parts of the country, including Jeddah and Jubail, according to statistics released by the Public Statistics Department.
According to the report published in local media on Wednesday, the population of Saudi Arabia at the end of 2015 was 31.5 million, with Saudis standing at 21.1 million or 67 percent, while expatriates were at 10.4 million or 33 percent.
In Jubail in the Eastern Province there were 205,000 Saudis and 243,000 expatriates, and in Jeddah 1.9 million Saudis and 2.13 million expatriates. In Alghat in Riyadh, the number of expatriates at 8,158 was close to that of Saudis at 8,800.
Mohammad Alsubaei, president of the Ethar Forum for Research and Social Studies, said the increase in the number of expatriates in Jubail and Jeddah was alarming and would affect the country on the social, economic and cultural fronts.
He said plans must be put in place under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to balance the numbers especially with the launch of Jubail 2 and the Industrial City in Ras Al-Khair. He said there was currently significant diversity in Jubail’s shopping malls, streets and restaurants, and in the manner in which people dress.
Alsubaei said Jeddah must be protected from the growth in the non-Saudi population because it threatens the identity of the city. He said plans must include having less mixing of Saudis with foreigners coming for work, Haj and Umrah.
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