Riyadh's 2026 population is now estimated at 8,079,940. In 1950, the population of Riyadh was 111,123. Riyadh has grown by 127,080 in the last year, which represents a 1.6% annual change. These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects . These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Riyadh, which typically includes Riyadh's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.
Riyadh is the capital city of Saudi Arabia. It is the highest populated city in the country and is situated on a plateau in the center of the Arabian Peninsula. It has been a growing city since the 14th century and has been known by many names throughout history. Modern day Riyadh is a thriving metropolis within Saudi Arabia and is its crowning jewel for commerce in the country.
The city of Riyadh covers a total surface area of 1,798 kilometers squared (694 sq miles). The population density comes to approximately 4,300 people living per square kilomter (11,000 residents per square mile).
The city of Riyadh has not had a census since 2010 and therefore some of the population numbers are quite out dated or are based on estimation alone. What is known is that the city’s population is divided into Saudi and non-Saudi residents. The total number of people within Riyadh, as of 2010, was 6,505,509 people, and the majority of the city’s residents are made up of Saudi people. 4,506,321 people are Saudi, which equates to 69.3% of the total population. Riyadh residents make up 23.3% of all Saudis in Saudi Arabia. Non-Saudi residents total 30.7% of the total population of Riyadh, or 1,999,188 people. The non-Saudi population of Riyadh makes up 29.6% of the total number of non-Saudis in the country. The population of Riyadh represents 24.9% of the total population of Saudi Arabia. The number of males outnumber the number of females, with 55% of the city male and 45% female.
Within Riyadh, there are 1,115,877 households making up 24.8% of all households in the entire country. Again, the numbers are split between Saudis and non-Saudis. The Saudi household population is 681,591, making up 22.7% of all Saudi households in Saudi Arabia. The average Saudi household in Riyadh has 6.6 people. The numbers for the non-Saudi population are quite a bit lower with only 474,286 in the city. The non-Saudi household population makes up 28.6% of all non-Saudi households in the country. The average size of a non-Saudi family household is quite a bit lower with 4.2 people.
A unique aspect of Riyadh is the fact that it not only has many nuclear families consisting of parents and children, but the traditional extended family in which parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and children stay in the same household is still a part of the culture. Currently, 75% of the homes in Riyadh are considered nuclear. The previous census of 1996 indicated that only 67% of the households were considered nuclear. However, the tradition of extended families living together is slowly moving away from the norm in Riyadh.
One of the most important aspects of any country is how it educates its young people. The city of Riyadh maintains very high expectations of its young people with regard to education. The numbers from the 2009 census indicate that 92% of the population from ages 6 to 22 are actively enrolled in some form of education. Only 8% of the total number of people in the city are illiterate. That is quite an achievement as many densely populated cities suffer from high illiteracy rates.