SAUDI ARABIA

1. Name and address of the organization responsible for the census:

Central Department of Statistics, P.O. Box 3735, Riyadh 11481.

2. Population censuses conducted since 1945 (years):

1974 and 1992.  The present description relates to the 1992 population census (held on 27 September 1992).  It is planned to conduct the next population census in 2004.

3. Coverage of the census:

(a) Geographical scope: Whole country.

(b) Persons covered: All persons of all ages.

4. Reference period:

The week preceding the census reference time.

5. Main topics:

(a) Total population, by sex and age: yes

Economically active population by:

(b) Sex and age group: yes

(c) Industry: yes

(d) Occupation: yes

(e) Status in employment: yes

(f) Highest educational level: yes

(g) Hours of work: no

(h) Other characteristics: yes

Re (a): The age is defined as the duration between the person’s date of birth and the census in completed years.

Re (h):  Name and activity of the place where the person works.

6. Concepts and definitions:

(a) Economically active population: It comprises all persons aged 12 years and over, who during the reference period were either employed or unemployed, according to the definitions given below. The definition excludes working students with a part-time job and students seeking work, but includes members of the armed forces.

(b) Employment: Considered as employed are all persons who, during the reference period, worked 15 hours or more at a job or jobs, or were absent from such a job or jobs due to illness, vacation, etc.  Also included are employers who were not working or seeking work during the reference week, such as a farmer who was waiting for the harvest or an establishment owner who was temporarily out of work.

It is reported that the following categories are generally included:

i)         persons doing unpaid work in family firm or business;

ii)        persons engaged in the production of primary products for own consumption;

iii)       employed persons, temporarily absent from work;

iv)       seasonal or occasional workers;

v)         conscripts for military/civilian service;

vi)       apprentices and trainees.

(c) Unemployment: Considered as unemployed are all persons who, during the reference period, were without work, able to work, willing to work and looking for work. The unemployed were classified as ‘Unemployed, previously worked’ or ‘Unemployed, never worked’.

7. Classifications used:

Only employed persons are classified by industry and by status in employment.  Both employed persons and unemployed persons previously employed are classified by occupation.

(a) Industry: To determine industry group, employed persons were asked to indicate in detail the main economic activity of the establishment/place where they work.  An additional question on the name of the establishment/place where a person works and its economic activity was also asked in order to reinforce the information on economic activity.  For coding industry, ISIC-rev.3 was used to the division (2-digit) level.

(b) Occupation: To determine occupation group, employed persons and unemployed persons previously employed were asked to indicate their main occupation (type of work the person is/was doing) in detail.  For coding occupation, ISCO-68 was used to the unit group (3-digit) level.

(c) Status in employment: To determine this variable employed persons were asked to indicate their employment status. For coding status in employment, four groups were used, namely: employer, self-employed, employee and unpaid family worker.

(d) Level of education:  Persons aged 10 years and over were asked to indicate their educational status/name of highest educational certificate obtained.  This was a pre-coded question that included the following nine categories:  illiterate; read and write; primary certificate; middle certificate; secondary/equivalent certificate; diploma above secondary and below university; university degree; higher diploma/master’s degree; doctor’s degree (Ph.D).    

8. Main differences compared with the previous census:

No major differences.

9. Publication of the census results:

The 1992 census results were published in 15 volumes; one volume for the whole country and one volume for each of the 14 regions of the country.

The organization responsible for the publication is the Central Department of Statistics, P.O. Box 3735, Riyadh 11481.

The census data are not available in other forms.