Saudi Arabia: population and ages

In mid-1950 there were 1.7 million people, so the population is now 20.6 times as large.

The UN projects 568,000 births and 81,700 deaths in 2026, 486,000 more births than deaths.

More people move in than leave: net migration in 2026 is projected at plus 109,000.

The median age is 29.7, which is 1.4 years below the world’s 31.1.

24% of the people are under 15 and 3.1% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

In the UN projection, children under 15 outnumber people aged 65 and over in every year to 2100.

Women have 2.3 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 7.6 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 79.4 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 40.0.

For mid-2050 the UN projects 47.7 million people, 36% more than now, with a median age of 32.0.

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 78.7 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 19.5 more years for women and 17.2 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 4.2 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 11.2.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 71 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 38.1 million to 112 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

In mid-2024, 13.7 million international migrants lived here, 40.3% of the population.

In mid-2024, 237,000 people from here lived in other countries.