RIYADH, 25 May 2004 — A total of 8.8 million expatriates live in Saudi Arabia, a figure that is equivalent to nearly 50 percent of the indigenous population, Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said yesterday.
The figures cited by Gosaibi exceed earlier unofficial estimates that expatriates accounted for some seven million out of a total population of 23 million, with an unemployment rate of 20 percent.
