About population and migration in Saudi Arabia

Ahead of the launch of NT.Payments` international business in Saudi Arabia, we decided to give a little background on the country, its population and labour migration.

Saudi Arabia (officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)) is a country on the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia. It has an area of approximately 2,150,000 km², making it the fifth-largest state in Asia, the second largest in the Arab world and the largest in West Asia. The country is bordered by the Red Sea to the west, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait to the north, the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast and Yemen to the south. Its capital and largest city is Riyadh. 

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to two of the most important holy places for Muslims, Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the two holy mosques. Modern Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Abd-ul Aziz bin Abd-ur Rahman Al Saud after a 30-year campaign to unite most of the Arabian Peninsula. Today, the country is ruled by one of his male descendants, as required by the country`s Basic Law passed in 1992. 

As of 2022, the KSA has a population of 35.3 million people which makes it the most populous country in the Arabian Peninsula. Meanwhile, according to the UN, almost 40% of the total population is made up of guest migrants working in the country.

Migration is an important part of Saudi society and culture, as the country`s thriving oil economy attracts large numbers of foreign workers across Asia and the Arab world. Following the diversification of the economy in response to the oil boom of the 1970s, the Saudi government encouraged skilled and semi-skilled workers to enter the Kingdom as demand for infrastructure and development increased. Saudi Arabia is one of the top five destination countries for immigrants worldwide, currently hosting 5.3 million international migrants within its borders.

26.3% of all migrants in Saudi Arabia are from India, followed by Pakistan (24.2%), Bangladesh (19.5%), Egypt (19.3%) and finally the Philippines (15.3%). Most of the Kingdom`s immigrants are skilled, unskilled and foreign service workers. Although the living and working conditions for immigrant workers in Saudi Arabia are not easy, the economic opportunities are generally much greater than in their home country. 

Shortly, every resident of this beautiful Arab country will be able to instantly and quickly top up their mobile phone bills, pay their utility bills, and conduct many other transactions in one or two clicks, thus making transactions with providers of various services convenient.