RIYADH, 7 December — The number of establishments subscribing to social insurance over the period March 2000 to February 2001 is put at 32,186, an 8.9 percent increase on 1999-2000, according to a report issued by the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI).

The 22nd annual GOSI report said it paid compensation worth SR 20.7 billion to subscribers or their dependents until the end of last year benefiting 1.75 million people.

Most of the establishments which subscribed to GOSI are in the trade and hotel sector. The construction sector accounted for 28 percent of the total insured companies, followed by industry with 12 percent and social services and other sectors at 10 percent.

The report showed that 77. 2 percent of the subscribing firms were owned by individuals, and that such firms registered an increase of 12 percent in subscriptions compared to 1999-2000. In more than 72 percent of these companies the number of workers were 20 or less.

The report revealed that 93.7 percent of the workers who came under the insurance coverage were in the private sector, and 6.3 percent in the public sector.

The number of employed subscribers rose by 4.8 percent to 1.81 million last year. The increase in the commercial and hotel sector was 31.5 percent, and in the construction sector 26.4 percent. The social services sector increased by 14.6 percent and manufacturing industries by 12. 5 percent. About 45 percent of the subscribers were working in the individually-run companies and 28 percent in limited and 9.8 in the joint stock companies and the government sector came last with 7.7 percent, the report said.

Regarding the professions of the subscribers, 71.8 percent worked in the transportation sector while the remaining were distributed among other professions. Most of the subscribers were between 15 to 44 years old. Their average monthly income was SR2,555.

The number of work-related accidents last year were put at 58,697, 7.6 percent less than the year before. In more than 55 percent of those accidents, upper parts of the body and hands were injured. More than 42 percent of the accidents were in the construction sector. It was also noted that the highest number of accidents in general occurred on Saturdays, and 90 percent of them were in the transportation sector.

The GOSI has paid a total of SR2 billion as pension and compensation for occupational hazards benefiting 721,316 people from its inception until last year. It paid SR200 million on occupational accidents in the year which was 2.9 percent less than the year before.

The report also revealed that GOSI invested SR12 billion in 45 companies in various sectors in the Kingdom. (SPA)