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The Population Growth of Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia

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The Population Growth of Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia The Population Growth of Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia by Majed Sultan Saad Ashwan BA, University of Riyadh, 1978 M.A., University of Cincinnati, 1984 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Science in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Geography, University of Durham, U.K. April 1990 1 0 FEB 1992 Abstract This study is concerned with the growth of population in Riyadh City in the period between 1962 and 1988, using not only published data but also the results of an intensive questionnaire survey. The striking feature in that growth is the fact that the population of the capital has increased nine times in a quarter of a century. The rate of growth here is evidently higher than the national average. The reasons which enhanced and assisted this growth lie in economic, administrative and cultural stimuli. Part One examines the distribution, and factors that influence the density of popula- tion concentration in Saudi Arabia; the historical development and factors that reflected the mutual effect between the growth of the population and the develop- ment of Riyadh City as the axis of Saudi Arabia and a centre of the Arab and Muslim worlds; housing, as the inevitable issue which would arise in such a situation, has also been surveyed. Part Two concentrates on the demographic components of population growth; the absence of family planning and religious factors as well as the traditional and social ties which led to an exceptionally high rate of fertility. Due to modern medical services, good nutrition and high living standards, there was a sharp decline in the rate of mortality, especially among infants. Migration was a leading factor, in boosting the population in the sixties and seventies, although the eighties witnessed a sudden decrease in the number of immigrants, which means that the growth was a direct result of the difference between the other two factors. Part Three is concerned with the population structure from the point of view of age and sex, as well as marriage in the city community, and the level of education. Finally, this part examines the economically active population in Riyadh City as well as in Saudi Arabia as a whole. Riyadh City is likely to grow from its population in 1988 of 1.3 million to approxi- mately 1.9 million by the end of the century, but its primacy is unlikely to increase and consequently Saudi Arabia should keep its binary city-size distribution. 11 Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep and sincere appreciation to the many individuals and institutions who have given information, advice and assistance in order to make this thesis a reality. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Professor John I. Clarke (Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Sub-Warden of the University of Durham, and the ex-Chair- man of the International Geographical Union Commission on Population Geography) for his generous investment of time, encouragement, suggestions and insightful counselling thus making this study possible. His intensive and creative comments have helped me step by step through the many complexities of the thesis process. My thanks are also due to the staff of the Saudi Consolidated Electric Company (SCECO) in Riyadh City for their co-operation and assistance in obtaining the data which have helped me to interview the families in Riyadh City. My special gratitude and appreciation go to my friend the civil engineer Abd Al-Aziz Al-Shaybani from the Riyadh City municipality for his help in making some of the resource information available. I am also grateful to the Deputy Ministry for Town Planning, and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs for assistance in obtaining most of the data. A special note of thanks goes to King Saud University, formerly Riyadh University, for their financial support during my stay in Durham. Also, I am greatly indebted to the staff of Durham University Computer Centre for aid with computing and to the staff at the Documentation Unit of the Middle East Centre. I am also very grateful to and appreciative of my colleagues at Durham University, especially my friend and fellow geographer, Hussein Yousef, for his encouragement and help. My sincere thanks go to the staff of Alpha Word Power for their diligence in electronically typesetting this thesis and to Mrs Kay Seaton for producing the carto- graphic work. My appreciation goes to my father, brothers and sisters for their moral support and prayers for my success. Finally, I am especially grateful for the patience of my wife, Munera, and my children, Reem, Shatha, Sultan and Bander, for their support and tolerance. iv Copyright © 1990 by Majed Sultan Saad Ashwan. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without Majed Sultan Saad Ashwan's prior written consent and informa- tion derived from it should be acknowledged. Majed S. Ashwan Department of Geography College of Arts King Saud University P.O. Box 2456 Riyadh 11451 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Declaration I declare that the contents of this thesis have not previously been submitted at this or any other university. Majed S. Ashwan Department of Geography University of Durham May 1990 v Table of Contents Abstract Acknowledgements Copyright and Declaration v Table of Contents vi List of Tables )di List of Figures xviii Chapter One Introduction 1 1.1 Statement of the problem 3 1.2 Demographic setting 5 1.3 Significance of the problem 13 1.4 Source of data. 15 1.5 Organization of the thesis. 16 1.6 Survey methods 17 1.6.1 Study Area. 18 1.6.2 Pilot survey. 18 1.6.3 Fieldwork 20 1.6.4 Sample Frame 20 1.6.5 Sampling procedure. 21 1.6.6 Training the data collectors. 25 1.6.7 Data-analysis and coding 29 PART I THE GROWTH OF RIYADH CITY IN SAUDI ARABIA 30 Chapter Two The Changing Population Distribution of Saudi Arabia 31 2.1 General Background 32 2.2 Demographic Data 39 2.3 Influences on Population Distribution 44 vi 2.4 Pre-Census Population Distribution 49 2.5 The 1962-63 Population Census 52 2.6 The 1974 Population Census 62 2.7 Post-Census Population Distribution 69 2.8 Summary 72 Chapter Three The Development of Riyadh City 76 3.1 Location 77 3.2 Historical Evolution of Riyadh City. 77 3.3 Centrality of Riyadh City. 89 3.3.1 Road Network 92 3.3.2 Railway 97 3.3.3 Air Transport 99 3.4 Land use pattern 101 3.5 Summary 109 Chapter Four Present Housing Patterns in Riyadh 112 4.1 Type of Housing 112 4.2 Building Materials 118 4.3 Age of housing units 122 4.4 Housing Ownership 124 4.5 Housing Services 127 4.6 Area of Housing Units 131 4.7 Occupancy 133 4.8 Household Structure 136 4.9 Summary 138 vii PART 11 THE COMPONENTS AND SIZE OF POPULATION GROWTH 141 Chapter Five High and Stable Fertility 142 5.1 Crude Birth and Fertility Rates in Saudi Arabia 143 5.2 Fertility Levels in Riyadh City 148 5.3 Family Planning 162 5.4 Summary 164 Chapter Six Declining Mortality 166 6.1 Crude death rate in Saudi Arabia 168 6.2 Infant Mortality rate in Saudi Arabia 171 6.3 Mortality levels in Riyadh City 172 6.4 Infant Mortality rate in Riyadh City; levels and changes 173 6.5 Age and sex mortality rate in Riyadh City 173 6.6 Socio-economic characteristics of deceased persons in the 1988 sample survey 176 6.7 Causes of death in Riyadh City 177 6.8 Natural Increase 178 6.9 Summary 178 Chapter Seven Migration To Riyadh And Its Growth Of Population 181 7.1 A Brief History of Migration in Saudi Arabia 182 7.2 Trends in Migration 184 7.3 Distribution of immigrant population 189 7.4 Migration to Riyadh City 198 7.5 Size of Migration to Riyadh City 199 7.6 Origin of Migrants 200 7.7 The Growth of Riyadh City's Population 204 7.8 Summary 217 viii PART DI POPULATION COMPOSITION 225 Chapter Eight Age And Sex Structure 226 8.1 Age Structure 228 8.1.1 Age-structure in 1962 - 1963 228 8.1.2 Age-Structure in Selected Cities and Towns, 1962 - 1963 230 8.1.3 Age Structure 1974 233 8.1.4 Age Structure in Riyadh City 236 8.1.5 District Variations in Age Structures 246 8.2 Sex Structure 249 8.2.1 Regional Variations in Sex Structure 249 8.2.2 Principality Variations in Sex Structure by Age Group of the Total Population (Saudi and Non-Saudi) 253 8.2.3 Principality Variations in Sex Structure by Age Groups for the Saudi Population 255 8.2.4 Sex Structure in Riyadh City 258 8.2.5 District Variations in Sex Structure 261 8.3 Dependency Ratio 262 8.4 Summary and Conclusion 265 Chapter Nine Marriage in Saudi And Riyadh Society . 269 9.1 Marital status of the Saudi and non-Saudi Population in the 1974 Census 272 9.2 Age-Sex Differential in Marital Status 274 9.3 Marital Status of the Total Population (Saudi and non-Saudi) by Principality and Sex 281 9.4 Marital Status in Riyadh City 285 9.5 Mean Age at First Marriage 296 9.6 Forms of Marriage 297 9.7 Summary 304 ix Chapter Ten Education in the Growth of Riyadh 307 10.1 Illiteracy 311 10.2 Level of Education for the Population aged 10 years and over 318 10.3 School Enrolment 322 10.4 Higher Education 326 10.5 Educational Characteristics in Riyadh City 328 10.6 Literacy in Riyadh City 328 10.7 Educational Level in Riyadh City 334 10.8 School Enrolment in Riyadh City 338 10.9 Conclusion 341 Chapter Eleven The Economically Active Population in Saudi Arabia and Riyadh City 344 11.1 The Economically Active Population in Saudi Arabia 346 11.2 Labour Force Participation Rates 349 11.3 Levels of Education
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