Young and rising: 71% of Saudi Arabia's population under age 35

Dubai: Around 71 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s population is under the age of 35, according to the 2024 Saudi Family Statistics Report, which has been recently released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

The report revealed that the average age of a Saudi citizen is 26.6 years, while the median age stands at 23.5. It offers a detailed overview of household composition across the Kingdom, based on the most recent statistical findings.

The report shows that Saudi households constitute approximately 51 per cent of all households in the country.

Among households with two or more members, nuclear families made up 70 per cent, while composite and extended families accounted for 16 per cent. Single-person households comprised 14 per cent of the total.

The average Saudi household size was reported at around five members. Households with six members represented 13.5 per cent of the total, while those with four or five members made up 12.8 per cent.

In terms of household leadership, the data indicated that men head 83.1 per cent of Saudi households, while women lead 16.9 per cent.

The highest percentage of male heads of household was found in the 35–39 age group (17.6%), whereas female heads of household were most commonly in the 30–34 age group (14.3%).

Regarding housing types, 44.9 per cent of Saudi households live in apartments, while 31 per cent reside in villas. Among single-person households, 55.8 per cent live in apartments and 16.2 per cent in villas. For households with multiple members, 43.4 per cent live in apartments and 33.3 per cent in villas.