JEDDAH, 24 August 2003 — Preparations are under way to carry out the Kingdom’s next general census. The 15-day program will be conducted in 2005, according to Mohanna Al-Mohanna, acting director general of the General Statistics Department.
The new census, the first in 13 years, will be have comprehensive data such as the male and female sections of the population, how they are spread out in cities, towns and villages, and detailed information pertaining to basic amenities available in rural and urban areas.
“The findings will help the country’s planners and decision-makers to adopt strategies to improve the public’s living conditions,” Al-Mohanna told Okaz Arabic daily.
The three-month-long final preparations began last Friday with officials surveying and numbering all buildings and housing units in the country.
“The census will actually start at the beginning of the 2005 academic year in all parts of the Kingdom,” Al-Mohanna told the Arabic daily.
During the census, all information will be collected within 15 days, Al-Mohanna said.
“The general census will cover all economic as well as profit and non-profit motivated institutions in cities and villages,” he said. “Our department is fully prepared for the census. We have already prepared the questionnaires as well as the necessary tables and readied the staff, providing them with necessary training,” Al-Mohanna said.
A large number of personnel, mostly schoolteachers and other government officials, will do the research. The exercise will also involve several ministries and government departments. The United Nations agencies based in Riyadh will provide necessary technical support.
The Kingdom has undergone rapid demographic changes in recent years. The last census conducted in 1992-93 showed the Kingdom’s population at 17 million, including 4.6 million expatriates, projecting an annual growth rate of eight percent. At present the Kingdom’s population is estimated at 23 million and is projected to grow to 39 million within the next 20 years, with the annual growth rate being 3.3 percent. The census will also help the government ascertain new demographic trends in the country.
According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, there has been a massive influx of the rural population into urban areas in the past which jeopardized the national urban strategy.
The study said the continuous growth of the population in major Saudi cities posed many risks, including deterioration of the urban environment, congestion and lack of public utilities. This will also widen the gap between various regions due to the demographic imbalance. Moreover, the trend will weaken the rural economy in the absence of proper exploitation of the country’s resources.
The population of Riyadh is projected to reach 11.1 million by the year 2020. This figure will account for between 33 and 36 percent of the total population of the Kingdom.
The department will use advanced technology and methods to analyze information. “This will help us publish the information quickly,” he added.
Mohanna highlighted the significance of the census as it will help boost social, educational and economic development of the country. “It will also help set up a social and demographic database,” he pointed out.
