Fawziya Al-Bakr
THE Kingdom’s population has been growing at astronomical proportions over the past 12 years. It jumped from 22.6 million in 2004 to 23.3 million in 2005, showing an increase of 3.4 percent. In 2006, the number reached 24.1 million while in 2007, the growth rate was 0.5 percent to reach 24.2 million.
The population reached 24.8 million in 2008, registering a growth of 2.3 percent. The same growth rate was recorded in 2009 when the number was 25.4 million. In 2010, a record growth of 8.6 percent was recorded, with the population jumping to 27.6 million.
In the following two years, authorities recorded a growth of 2.9 percent to reach 29.2 million people in 2012. The figure reached 30 million in 2013, when the growth was 2.7 percent, 30.8 million in 2014 and 31.5 million in 2015, growing at a rate of 2.4 percent.
The figure includes non-Saudis who account for one third of the population or little more than 10 million. The rest are Saudis. All the people living in the Kingdom require housing, healthcare, education, recreation and utility services, such as water and electricity.
There is no surprise if we see our major cities are crowded. Anywhere we go we see thousands of vehicles on the street. According to one study, cars in Riyadh would not be able to exceed the speed of 25 km/hour after five years because of overcrowded streets.
According to the Malthusian theory, the population growth rate could jump from 2 to 4 percent then to 8 and 16 percent, and the reality in the Kingdom is not very far from that. The average size a middle income family has risen from five to seven members in the past 30 years. The number is much higher in the southern regions.
The population growth rate in the Kingdom has reached frightening levels, exceeding Yemen, which has always recorded one of the highest fertility rates in the world. I am not sure how we can stop this population explosion. Anyhow efforts must be made to bring down the growth rate for many reasons.
Firstly, our resources would not be enough even to meet the needs of the present population, including education and healthcare especially because of falling oil prices. Existing public infrastructure facilities such as roads, electricity and water would not be able to cope with the rising population.
All educational, religious and cultural institutions and agencies in the Kingdom should work to reduce this astronomical population growth. Most people are not aware of the negative impact of such a huge growth. We cannot leave it to the destiny as our religion Islam has made us responsible for our home and actions and we have to deal with matters wisely.
A person may die of an heart attack or road accident or terrorist attack as destined by Allah as we learn from the Shariah, which is not responsible for the children who are unfed because parents give birth to them without considering their financial situation.
I take this opportunity to call upon all educational, religious and cultural institutions and television channels to enlighten people on the need for family planning. Prayer leaders and mosque imams have a greater role to play in this respect as they meet with people at least five times a day. They are more influential than teachers and parents. This will help us solve many of our problems, including the housing crisis.
