Expats outnumbering Saudis in Jeddah raises alarm in KSA

A Saudi social researcher has expressed alarm over expatriates outnumbering local populations in Jeddah and in Jubail in the Eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
In an article, Arab News quoted Mohammad Alsubaei, president of the Ethar Forum for Research and Social Studies, as saying that the increase in the number of expatriates, at least in those two places, is alarming as it would affect the country on the social, economic, and cultural fronts.
Demographic statistics in 2015 show that in Jeddah there were 1.9 million Saudis against 2.13 million expatriates, a local media reported Wednesday.
In Jubail, on the other hand, there were 205,000 Saudis against 243,000 expatriates at the end of the same year, the report added.
Overall, the Kingdom has 31.5 million population with Saudis at 21.1 million (67 percent), while expatriates at 10.4 million (33 percent).
In other areas, such as in Alghat in Riyadh, expats were at 8,158, closing in on Saudis number at 8,800.
Alsubaei suggested that the Saudi government must craft a plan to achieve the Kingdom's Vision 2030 to balance the numbers especially with the launch of Jubail 2 and the Industrial City in Ras Al-Khair.
Jeddah must be protected from the growth in the non-Saudi population because it threatens the identity of the city, he said.
Measures that are to be put in place should include having less mixing of Saudis with foreigners coming for work in some areas, to lessen the impact expats might have on Saudis' culture and ways of life. — LBG, GMA News

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