Saudi Arabia Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Saudi Arabia vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Saudi Arabia	World
1960	18.6	22.5
1961	18.5	22.5
1962	18.4	22.4
1963	18.2	22.2
1964	18	22
1965	17.9	21.8
1966	17.7	21.7
1967	17.6	21.6
1968	17.5	21.5
1969	17.4	21.5
1970	17.4	21.4
1971	17.4	21.4
1972	17.4	21.5
1973	17.5	21.5
1974	17.6	21.6
1975	17.7	21.7
1976	17.8	21.9
1977	17.9	22
1978	18	22.2
1979	18.1	22.3
1980	18.2	22.5
1981	18.3	22.6
1982	18.4	22.7
1983	18.5	22.9
1984	18.6	23
1985	18.7	23.2
1986	18.7	23.3
1987	18.8	23.4
1988	18.9	23.6
1989	19	23.8
1990	19	23.9
1991	19.2	24.1
1992	19.3	24.3
1993	19.4	24.5
1994	19.6	24.7
1995	19.7	25
1996	19.9	25.2
1997	20.2	25.4
1998	20.4	25.7
1999	20.7	25.9
2000	20.8	26.1
2001	20.7	26.3
2002	20.8	26.5
2003	21.1	26.7
2004	21.4	27
2005	21.9	27.2
2006	22.3	27.4
2007	22.8	27.6
2008	23.4	27.8
2009	23.9	28
2010	24.5	28.2
2011	25.2	28.4
2012	25.9	28.6
2013	26.6	28.9
2014	27.2	29.1
2015	27.9	29.3
2016	28.6	29.5
2017	29	29.8
2018	29.3	30
2019	29.3	30.3
2020	29.4	30.6
2021	29.5	30.8
2022	29.7	31
2023	30.2	31.3
2024	30.5	31.6
2025	30.6	31.9
2026	30.7	32.1
2027	30.7	32.3
2028	30.7	32.6
2029	30.7	32.8
2030	30.7	33
2031	30.7	33.2
2032	30.8	33.4
2033	30.8	33.6
2034	30.9	33.8
2035	31	34
2036	31.1	34.2
2037	31.2	34.4
2038	31.4	34.6
2039	31.5	34.8
2040	31.7	35
2041	31.8	35.2
2042	31.9	35.4
2043	32.1	35.6
2044	32.2	35.8
2045	32.3	36
2046	32.5	36.2
2047	32.6	36.4
2048	32.7	36.6
2049	32.9	36.8
2050	33	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Saudi Arabia was 18.6 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 30.5 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 128th for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Saudi Arabia ranks 98th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase to around 33 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Saudi Arabia demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Saudi Arabia
	Male	Female
0-4	3.98%	3.82%
5-9	4.14%	3.99%
10-14	4.02%	3.86%
15-19	3.68%	3.5%
20-24	4.31%	3.31%
25-29	6.42%	3.68%
30-34	7.84%	3.98%
35-39	7.54%	3.6%
40-44	6.09%	2.84%
45-49	4.27%	2.06%
50-54	3.04%	1.5%
55-59	2.19%	1.15%
60-64	1.41%	0.85%
65-69	0.75%	0.54%
70-74	0.4%	0.33%
75-79	0.27%	0.23%
80+	0.21%	0.23%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Saudi Arabia has average demographic potential with 60.5% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 84/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Saudi Arabia			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	87.4%	81.2%	6.14%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	88.2%	82.1%	6.1%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	89.1%	83.1%	6.07%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	90.2%	84.2%	6.03%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	91.3%	85.3%	5.99%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	92.1%	86.1%	5.94%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	92.8%	86.9%	5.88%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	93.3%	87.5%	5.81%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	93.7%	87.9%	5.72%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	93.8%	88.1%	5.63%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	93.7%	88.2%	5.52%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	93.3%	87.9%	5.39%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	92.5%	87.3%	5.23%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	91.6%	86.5%	5.07%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	90.7%	85.8%	4.91%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	89.8%	85%	4.75%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	89%	84.4%	4.6%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	88.1%	83.7%	4.46%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	87.3%	83%	4.32%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	86.7%	82.5%	4.2%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	86.1%	82%	4.09%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	85.5%	81.5%	3.99%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	84.8%	80.9%	3.89%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	84.2%	80.4%	3.8%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	83.9%	80.1%	3.73%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	83.7%	80%	3.68%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	83.4%	79.8%	3.64%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	83%	79.4%	3.6%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	82.6%	79%	3.58%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	82.3%	78.7%	3.57%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	81.7%	78.1%	3.57%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	80.9%	77.3%	3.57%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	80%	76.4%	3.58%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	78.9%	75.3%	3.59%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	77.7%	74.1%	3.6%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	76.3%	72.7%	3.62%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	74.8%	71.1%	3.64%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	73.2%	69.5%	3.67%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	71.4%	67.7%	3.7%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	69.7%	65.9%	3.74%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	68.1%	64.4%	3.75%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	66.4%	62.7%	3.72%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	64.1%	60.4%	3.69%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	61.2%	57.5%	3.65%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	58.1%	54.5%	3.61%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	54.9%	51.4%	3.57%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	51.9%	48.4%	3.53%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	49.2%	45.7%	3.5%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	46.8%	43.3%	3.48%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	44.7%	41.2%	3.46%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	42.9%	39.5%	3.42%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	41.4%	38%	3.38%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	40.2%	36.9%	3.32%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	39.1%	35.9%	3.24%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	38.3%	35.1%	3.15%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	37.5%	34.5%	3.06%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	37.2%	34.2%	3.04%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	37.8%	34.7%	3.14%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	39%	35.7%	3.31%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	39.3%	35.9%	3.41%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	38.9%	35.4%	3.5%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	38.6%	34.9%	3.63%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	37.6%	33.9%	3.72%	54%	39%	15%
2023	36.8%	33%	3.86%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	36.6%	32.5%	4.03%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in Saudi Arabia decreased from 58.1% to 36.6% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Saudi Arabia working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Saudi Arabia	World
1960	53.4%	57.6%
1961	53.1%	57.5%
1962	52.9%	57.4%
1963	52.6%	57.2%
1964	52.3%	57%
1965	52.1%	56.9%
1966	51.9%	56.8%
1967	51.7%	56.9%
1968	51.6%	56.9%
1969	51.6%	56.9%
1970	51.6%	57%
1971	51.7%	57.1%
1972	51.9%	57.2%
1973	52.2%	57.3%
1974	52.4%	57.3%
1975	52.7%	57.4%
1976	52.9%	57.5%
1977	53.2%	57.7%
1978	53.4%	58%
1979	53.6%	58.4%
1980	53.7%	58.7%
1981	53.9%	59%
1982	54.1%	59.3%
1983	54.3%	59.6%
1984	54.4%	59.9%
1985	54.4%	60.1%
1986	54.5%	60.4%
1987	54.7%	60.5%
1988	54.8%	60.7%
1989	54.9%	60.8%
1990	55%	60.9%
1991	55.3%	61%
1992	55.6%	61.1%
1993	55.9%	61.2%
1994	56.3%	61.3%
1995	56.7%	61.5%
1996	57.2%	61.7%
1997	57.7%	61.9%
1998	58.3%	62.2%
1999	58.9%	62.5%
2000	59.5%	62.8%
2001	60.1%	63.1%
2002	61%	63.4%
2003	62%	63.7%
2004	63.3%	64%
2005	64.5%	64.3%
2006	65.8%	64.5%
2007	67%	64.7%
2008	68.1%	64.9%
2009	69.1%	65%
2010	70%	65.1%
2011	70.7%	65.2%
2012	71.3%	65.2%
2013	71.9%	65.2%
2014	72.3%	65.2%
2015	72.7%	65.1%
2016	72.9%	65.1%
2017	72.6%	65%
2018	72%	64.9%
2019	71.8%	64.9%
2020	72%	64.8%
2021	72.2%	64.9%
2022	72.7%	64.9%
2023	73.1%	65%
2024	73.2%	65.1%
2025	73.3%	65.2%
2026	73.4%	65.3%
2027	73.5%	65.4%
2028	73.5%	65.4%
2029	73.5%	65.4%
2030	73.6%	65.4%
2031	73.5%	65.4%
2032	73.5%	65.4%
2033	73.5%	65.4%
2034	73.4%	65.3%
2035	73.3%	65.2%
2036	73.2%	65%
2037	73.1%	64.9%
2038	73%	64.7%
2039	73%	64.6%
2040	73%	64.5%
2041	72.9%	64.4%
2042	72.9%	64.3%
2043	72.8%	64.2%
2044	72.7%	64.1%
2045	72.6%	63.9%
2046	72.4%	63.8%
2047	72.3%	63.7%
2048	72.1%	63.6%
2049	71.9%	63.4%
2050	71.7%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Saudi Arabia changed from 63.3% to 73.2% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Saudi Arabia	World
1960	43.4%	37.4%
1961	43.6%	37.5%
1962	43.9%	37.6%
1963	44.3%	37.8%
1964	44.6%	38%
1965	44.8%	38%
1966	45.1%	38%
1967	45.3%	38%
1968	45.4%	37.9%
1969	45.5%	37.8%
1970	45.5%	37.7%
1971	45.5%	37.6%
1972	45.3%	37.5%
1973	45.2%	37.3%
1974	45%	37.2%
1975	44.8%	37.1%
1976	44.6%	36.9%
1977	44.5%	36.7%
1978	44.3%	36.3%
1979	44.2%	35.9%
1980	44.1%	35.5%
1981	43.9%	35.2%
1982	43.8%	34.9%
1983	43.7%	34.6%
1984	43.6%	34.3%
1985	43.6%	34%
1986	43.5%	33.8%
1987	43.4%	33.6%
1988	43.3%	33.4%
1989	43.2%	33.2%
1990	43%	33%
1991	42.7%	32.9%
1992	42.4%	32.7%
1993	42.1%	32.5%
1994	41.7%	32.3%
1995	41.2%	32.1%
1996	40.7%	31.8%
1997	40.1%	31.5%
1998	39.5%	31.1%
1999	38.9%	30.8%
2000	38.3%	30.4%
2001	37.7%	30%
2002	36.8%	29.6%
2003	35.7%	29.2%
2004	34.5%	28.8%
2005	33.2%	28.5%
2006	31.9%	28.1%
2007	30.6%	27.9%
2008	29.5%	27.6%
2009	28.5%	27.5%
2010	27.6%	27.3%
2011	26.9%	27.1%
2012	26.3%	27%
2013	25.8%	26.9%
2014	25.4%	26.8%
2015	25.1%	26.6%
2016	24.9%	26.5%
2017	25.2%	26.4%
2018	25.7%	26.2%
2019	25.8%	26%
2020	25.5%	25.8%
2021	25.2%	25.6%
2022	24.6%	25.3%
2023	24.1%	25%
2024	23.8%	24.7%
2025	23.6%	24.4%
2026	23.4%	24.1%
2027	23.3%	23.8%
2028	23.1%	23.4%
2029	22.9%	23.1%
2030	22.8%	22.8%
2031	22.6%	22.6%
2032	22.5%	22.3%
2033	22.4%	22.1%
2034	22.3%	21.9%
2035	22.2%	21.7%
2036	22.2%	21.6%
2037	22.1%	21.5%
2038	22%	21.4%
2039	21.9%	21.3%
2040	21.7%	21.2%
2041	21.5%	21.1%
2042	21.3%	21%
2043	21.2%	21%
2044	21%	20.9%
2045	20.8%	20.8%
2046	20.7%	20.7%
2047	20.5%	20.7%
2048	20.4%	20.6%
2049	20.2%	20.5%
2050	20.1%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Saudi Arabia decreased from 34.5% to 23.8% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Saudi Arabia	World
1960	3.27%	4.97%
1961	3.24%	4.99%
1962	3.21%	5.01%
1963	3.17%	5.02%
1964	3.13%	5.04%
1965	3.09%	5.08%
1966	3.05%	5.12%
1967	3%	5.16%
1968	2.95%	5.2%
1969	2.9%	5.24%
1970	2.85%	5.28%
1971	2.79%	5.32%
1972	2.72%	5.37%
1973	2.65%	5.42%
1974	2.57%	5.47%
1975	2.5%	5.53%
1976	2.43%	5.59%
1977	2.37%	5.65%
1978	2.31%	5.71%
1979	2.25%	5.77%
1980	2.2%	5.81%
1981	2.15%	5.81%
1982	2.1%	5.8%
1983	2.06%	5.79%
1984	2.03%	5.8%
1985	2.01%	5.82%
1986	1.99%	5.86%
1987	1.97%	5.91%
1988	1.96%	5.95%
1989	1.96%	6.01%
1990	1.97%	6.07%
1991	1.97%	6.14%
1992	1.99%	6.21%
1993	2.01%	6.29%
1994	2.03%	6.37%
1995	2.05%	6.45%
1996	2.08%	6.53%
1997	2.12%	6.61%
1998	2.16%	6.68%
1999	2.2%	6.76%
2000	2.23%	6.84%
2001	2.24%	6.92%
2002	2.25%	7.01%
2003	2.26%	7.1%
2004	2.28%	7.18%
2005	2.3%	7.26%
2006	2.32%	7.34%
2007	2.35%	7.41%
2008	2.37%	7.47%
2009	2.39%	7.52%
2010	2.4%	7.58%
2011	2.39%	7.66%
2012	2.37%	7.78%
2013	2.33%	7.92%
2014	2.28%	8.08%
2015	2.23%	8.26%
2016	2.21%	8.45%
2017	2.28%	8.65%
2018	2.38%	8.88%
2019	2.45%	9.1%
2020	2.52%	9.33%
2021	2.62%	9.53%
2022	2.7%	9.74%
2023	2.82%	9.98%
2024	2.95%	10.2%
2025	3.06%	10.4%
2026	3.17%	10.6%
2027	3.29%	10.8%
2028	3.42%	11.1%
2029	3.55%	11.5%
2030	3.69%	11.7%
2031	3.84%	12%
2032	4%	12.3%
2033	4.16%	12.6%
2034	4.32%	12.8%
2035	4.47%	13.1%
2036	4.63%	13.4%
2037	4.79%	13.7%
2038	4.96%	13.9%
2039	5.14%	14.1%
2040	5.34%	14.3%
2041	5.55%	14.5%
2042	5.79%	14.7%
2043	6.05%	14.9%
2044	6.32%	15%
2045	6.61%	15.2%
2046	6.91%	15.4%
2047	7.22%	15.7%
2048	7.54%	15.9%
2049	7.87%	16.1%
2050	8.2%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Saudi Arabia increased from 2.28% to 2.95% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.