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 Map of Saudis in The World | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c.20,000,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Saudi Arabia 18,800,000[1] | |
 Egypt | 1,771,894[2] |
 United States | 667,511[2] |
 Kuwait | 540,773[2] |
 United Arab Emirates | 150,247[2] |
 Lebanon | 108,842[2] |
 United Kingdom | 102,604[2] |
 Australia | 91,900[2] |
 Turkey | 90,878 |
 Jordan | 86,622 |
 France | 84,000[2] |
 Qatar | 83,560 |
 Iran | 82,314 |
 Canada | 80,000 |
 Malaysia | 72,000 |
 Brazil | 45,000[2] |
 Libya | 38,000[3] |
 Germany | 35,000[2] |
 Palestine | 25,000[3] |
 India | 14,000[3] |
 Sweden | 6,000[3] |
 Bahrain | 5,000[4] |
 Algeria | 4,000[3] |
 Netherlands | 3,000[3] |
 Oman | 2,000[3] |
 Indonesia | 2,000[3] |
 New Zealand | 2,000[3] |
 Mali | 2,000[3] |
 Venezuela | 2,000[3] |
 Sri Lanka | 1,417[5] |
 Norway | 1,223[6] |
 Iraq | 1,000[3] |
 Spain | 1,000[3] |
 Italy | 1,000[3] |
 Switzerland | 1,000[3] |
 Belgium | 1,000[3] |
 Austria | 1,000[3] |
 Senegal | 1,000[3] |
 Philippines | 621[7] |
 Finland | 599[8] |
 Colombia | 74[9] |
 Russia | 12[10] |
 Taiwan | 3[11] |
| Languages | |
| Arabic (Modern Standard,Hejazi,Najdi,Gulf,Bahrani) | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| otherArabs,Semites and North-Afroasiates | |
Saudis (Arabic:سعوديون,romanized: Suʿūdiyyūn) orSaudi Arabians are anethnic group and nation native to theKingdom of Saudi Arabia, who speak the Arabic language, aCentral Semitic language, and share a commonancestry, history, and culture. They are mainly composed ofArabs and live in the five historical Regions:Najd,Hejaz,Asir,Tihamah andAl-Ahsa; the regions which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded on or what was formerly known as theKingdom of Hejaz and Nejd in theArabian Peninsula. Saudis speak one of the dialects ofPeninsular Arabic, including theHejazi,Najdi,Gulf and Southern Arabic dialects (which includesBareqi), as a mother tongue.
The cultural setting ofSaudi Arabia isArab andIslam, and is often religious, conservative, traditional, and family oriented. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited, for example, however things are slowly changing now.[12]
Daily life is dominated by Islamic observance and ruling. Regardless of whether the inhabitants of that city are non-Muslim, this is still observed. Although they are not required to fulfil religious rituals or obligations, clothing must meet a certain standard. Five times each day, Muslims are called to prayer from theminarets ofmosques scattered throughout the country. Because Friday is the holiest day for Muslims, the weekend is Friday-Saturday.[13] In accordance withSalafi doctrine, only two religious holidays,Eid al-Fitr andEid al-Adha, were publicly recognized, until 2006 when a non-religious holiday,the 23 September national holiday (which commemorates the unification of the kingdom) was reintroduced.[14]
The original inhabitants of cities are known as (Arabic:حَضَر,romanized: ḥaḍar) sedentary people; they settled in villages, towns and cities across Saudi Arabia. Some of the famous cities of the past wereJeddah,Tabuk,Al-Ula,Jubbah,Madain Saleh,Riyadh,Tayma,Dumat al-Jandal,Al-Ahsa,Thaj,Tarout Island,Qaryat al-Faw,Al-Ukhdud,Ha'il,Qatif,Al-Yamamah,Mecca,Medina,Taif,Aflaj,Manfouha,Tirmidah, andAl-Qassim Region.
There are prominent Saudis (mostlyHejazis) of various origins includingBosniak (e.g. Deputy Minister of Touris, Human Capabilities Development Mohammed Bushnaq), Egyptian,Hadremi (e.g.Bin Laden family),Jawi (e.g. former minister ofHajj andUmrahMuhammad Saleh Benten),Turkish (e.g.Dr. Muhammad Khashoggi),Bukhari (e.g. footballerAmin Bukhari) and South Asian (e.g.footballerAbdulbasit Hindi). They are mostly from the cities ofMecca,Medina andJeddah.
A portion of the original inhabitants of the area that is now Saudi were known asBedouin (nomads) (Arabic:بَدُو,romanized: badu). They remain a significant and very influential minority of the indigenous Saudi population, though many who call themselves "badu" (nomad) no longer engage in "traditional tribal activities and settled."[15] According to authors Harvey Tripp and Peter North, Bedouin make up most of thejudiciary, religious leaders andNational Guard (which protects the throne) of the country. Bedouin (nomad) culture is "actively" preserved by the government.[15] Nowadays most the bedouins have been urbanized are living in towns or cities but they still designate themselves as bedouins (nomads) and still speakbedouin dialects as opposed to the dialects of the sedentary tribes or urban centers.
However, many or most members of the Afro-Saudi minority are descendants of former slaves, in particular descendants of the slaves who had been freed in 1962.[16] Afro-Saudi activists complain that they are not given media representation and are unable to find opportunities to improve their social condition.[17][circular reference] Many suffer from racial discrimination in employment and education. Many Saudis view them as inferior.[18][19]
Greetings in Saudi Arabia have been called "formal and proscribed" and lengthy. Saudis (specifically men) tend "to take their time and converse for a bit when meeting". Inquiries "about health and family" are customary, but never about a man's wife, as this "is considered disrespectful."[20][21][better source needed]
The religion and customs of Saudi Arabia dictate not only conservative dress for men and women, but a uniformity of dress unique to most of West Asia.[22] Traditionally, the different regions of Saudi have had different dress, but since the re-establishment of Saudi rule these have been reserved for festive occasions, and "altered if not entirely displaced" by the dress of the homeland of their rulers (i.e.Najd).[23]
InSaudi Arabia, women were required to cover in public.[24] However, in March 2018, theCrown PrinceMohammad bin Salman claimed thatwomen could choose what to wear in public, provided it met certain standards, when he stated, "The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear".[25][26] Until late 2019, all women were required to wear anabaya, a long cloak that covers all but the hands, hair, and face in public. Modest dress is compulsory for women in Islam, but the color black for women and white for men is apparently based on tradition not religious scripture.[27] Foreign women were required to wear an abaya, but did not need to cover their hair. Many Saudi women also normally wear a fullface veil, such as aniqāb. Women's clothes are often decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, andappliqués.
In recent years it is common to wear Western dress underneath theabaya. Foreign women in Saudi Arabia are "encouraged" by the religious police to wear anabaya, or at least cover their hair, according tothe New York Times.[28] Authors Harvey Tripp and Peter North encourage women to wear an abaya in "more conservative" areas of the kingdom, i.e. in the interior.[29]
Saudi men and boys, whatever their job or social status, wear the traditional dress called athobe orthawb, which has been called the "Arabic dress".[30] During warm and hot weather, Saudi men and boys wear white thobes. During the cool weather, wool thobes in dark colors are not uncommon. At special times, men often wear abisht ormishlah over the thobe. These are long white, brown or black cloaks trimmed in gold. A man's headdress consists of three things: thetagia, a small white cap that keeps thegutra from slipping off the head; thegutra itself, which is a large square of cloth; and theigal, a doubled black cord that holds thegutra in place. Not wearing an igal is considered a sign of piety. The gutra is usually made of cotton and traditionally is either all white or a red and white checked. The gutra is worn folded into a triangle and centred on the head.
More recently,Western dress, particularlyT-shirts andjeans have become quite commonleisurewear, particularly in Jeddah,Riyadh and theEastern Province.[31]Traditional footwear is leather sandals but most footwear is now imported.[23]
Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia and its law requires that all citizens be Muslims.[32] The government does not legally protect thefreedom of religion.[32] Any overseas national attempting to acquire Saudi nationality must convert to Islam.[33] Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its implementation of Islamic law and its poorhuman rights record.[34][35]
The official form of Islam isSunni of theHanbali school, in itsSalafi version. According to official statistics, 90% of Saudi citizens areSunni Muslims, and 10%Shia.[36] More than 30% of the population is made up of foreign workers[36] who are predominantly but not entirely Muslim. It is unknown how manyAhmadi there are in the country.[37] The two holiest cities of Islam,Mecca andMedina, are in Saudi Arabia. For many reasons, non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the holy cities although some Western non-Muslims have been able to enter, disguised as Muslims.[38][39]
The large number offoreign workers living in Saudi Arabia (7.5 million expatriates in 2013[40]) includes non-Muslims. For Saudis, you cannot be a Saudi citizen without beingMuslim.[41]
According to scholarBernard Lewis, the Saudi Arabian policy of excluding non-Muslims from permanent residence in the country is a continuation of an old and widely accepted Muslim policy.
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The classical Arabic historians tell us that in the year 20 after thehijra (Muhammad's move fromMecca toMedina), corresponding to 641 of the Christian calendar, the CaliphUmar decreed that Jews and Christians should be removed from Arabia to fulfill an injunction theProphet uttered on his deathbed: "Let there not be two religions in Arabia." The people in question were the Jews of the oasis ofKhaybar in the north and the Christians ofNajran in the south.
[The hadith] was generally accepted as authentic, and Umar put it into effect. ... Compared with European expulsions, Umar's decree was both limited and compassionate. It did not include southern and southeastern Arabia, which were not seen as part of Islam's holy land. ...the Jews and Christians of Arabia were resettled on lands assigned to them – the Jews inSyria, the Christians inIraq. The process was also gradual rather than sudden, and there are reports of Jews and Christians remaining in Khaybar and Najran for some time after Umar's edict.
But the decree was final and irreversible, and from then until now the holy land of theHijaz has been forbidden territory for non-Muslims. According to theHanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence, accepted by both the Saudis and the declaration's signatories, for a non-Muslim even to set foot on the sacred soil is a major offense. In the rest of the kingdom, non-Muslims, while admitted as temporary visitors, were not permitted to establish residence or practice their religion.[42]
While Saudi Arabia does allow non-Muslims to live in Saudi Arabia to work or do business, they may not practice religion publicly. According to the government of the United Kingdom:
The public practice of any form of religion other than Islam is illegal; as is an intention to convert others. However, the Saudi authorities accept the private practice of religions other than Islam, and you can bring a Bible into the country as long as it is for your personal use. Importing larger quantities than this can carry severe penalties.[43]
Saudi Arabia still gives citizenship to people from other countries.[44]
The first official population census of Saudi Arabia was in 1974. It had 6,218,361 Saudi nationals and 791,105 non-nationals for a total of 7,009,466. Of those, 5,147,056 people were settled and the number of nomads recorded were 1.86 million.[45]
Until the 1960s, much of the population was nomadic or seminomadic; due to rapid economic and urban growth, more than 95% of the population now is settled. 80% of Saudis live in three major urban centers—Riyadh,Jeddah, orDammam.[46] Some cities and oases have densities of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer (2,600 people/sq mi).[46] Despite the rapid growth in Saudi Arabia over the past decades, it is experiencing a rapid decline not only in mortality, followed by fertility rates, which fell from about seven children on average per woman in the last century to 2.4 in 2016, based on the latest population survey conducted by theGeneral Authority for Statistics.[47]Saudi Arabia has lagged far behind in increasing its population compared to its neighbors, such as Iraq and Syria.
According to the 2022 census, Saudi nationals represented approximately 18,800,000 making up 58.4% of the total population ofSaudi Arabia.[1]
DNA tests of Y chromosomes from representative sample of Saudis were analyzed for composition and frequencies of haplogroups, a plurality (71.02%) belong toHaplogroup J1-M267. Other frequent haplogroups divided betweenHaplogroup J2-M172 (2.68%),A (0.83%),B (1.67%),E1b1a (1.50%),E1b1b (11.05%),G (1.34%),H (0.33%),L (1.00%),Q (1.34%),R1a (2.34%),R1b (0.83%),T (2.51%),P (1.50%).[48]
datosmacro.com was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page)."... for decades the sheikhs successfully resisted attempts to add September 23 to the short list of official conges. But with the accession of Abdullah, the battlefield changed. If the king wanted a holiday, the king could grant it, and whatever the clerics might mutter, the people approved. Since 2006 A.D. the night of September 23 has become an occasion for national mayhem in Saudi Arabia, the streets blocked with green-flag-waving cars, many of them sprayed with green foam for the night.
[U.S.] State Department guidelines note, for example, that the religious police can "pressure women to wear" the full-length black covering known as an abaya, "and to cover their heads."
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
