Healthcare Challenges in Saudi Arabia

Executive Summary
Health is an essential commodity in our lives and the government continues its ongoing efforts to
initiate discussions among the citizens on the policies, strategies, effective course of action as wells as
programmes that the health sector of any region must undertake for proper governance and maintain
sustainability. Being a country with a population that is highly dense as well teeming with migrants
from surrounding areas, the goals of attaining the highest standards for physical and mental health is
mandatory for the success and well-being of Saudi Arabia. Approximately 14.6% of the population is
below the poverty line, a substantial number.Thus, providing healthcare that is affordable and of
sufficient is of primary importance to the people of Saudi Arabia. The primary focus is on the
underprivileged sections of society. The Ministry of Health aims at providing health for its population
that is altogether preventive, rehabilitative and curative in nature, thus a holistic approach.
There are around 1925 health care centres around the nation to which the Ministry provides primary
health care services(“Ministry Of Health وزارةالصحة,” n.d.). It works in cooperation with the Ministry
of Defence and Aviation, Saudi Arabian National Guard and the Ministry of Interior. Private sectors
contribute the most to healthcare in Saudi Arabia, and most expenses are paid by the patients
themselves, rather than using insurances. Most insurances are provided by private sectors as well.
Saudi Arabia continues to battle with diseases and nutritional deficiencies in each urban centre as well
as faces an exponential increase in accidents and non-communicable disorders. The healthcare budget
as of recent data is about 68.7 billion SR during 2011 (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Healthcare
Overview 2018, 2018) It was a mere 2.8% of the total budget in 1970 to the present value. The core
philosophy of the ministry of health in Saudi Arabia is to establish a robust major healthcare system
which focuses primarily on healthcare that is preventive in nature.

Population and Demography of Saudi Arabia
The country has a population of 34 million people currently. Males comprise 22 million while females
stand at 12 million.It has a rank of 41st in terms of the world population count. The population density
is about 16 occupants per square kilometres (Population of Saudi Arabia (2019 and historical), 2018).
The average annual growth rate in Riyadh was nearly 18% ten years ago and has declined to 14% at
present. The literacy rate has increased by 8% since the last decade. The literacy rate as per the census
of 2011 ranks the state at 20th in Saudi Arabia, with 76.26% as compared to the national average of
74.04%. From the year 1901, the urban population consisted of only 12 % of the total population
which has increased to 32% in 2011. The sex ratio as in the number of females per 1000 males has
shown a meagre increase from 945 to 950 in the previously mentioned time frame. An important
factor in all of these features and trends lies in the dramatic increase in population density per square
kilometres, from 193 at
the beginning of the last
century to 1028 in the
present decade. The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
is the second largest Arab
state after Algeria. It
consists of majority of the
Arabian Peninsula. The
country being the
birthplace of Islam, has
around 3 to 5 million
illegal immigrants that
inhabit its borders at any given time (Saudi Arabia: Year in Review 2018, 2019).

Fig 1: Estimate Population Density of Saudi Arabia in 2010. Source : Gridded Population of the
World (GPW), v4(“Gridded Population of the World (GPW), v4 | SEDAC,” n.d.)
Fig 2: Demographics of Saudi Arabia, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.
Source: Data UN DESA, year 2012
The sex ratio as stated before has decreased by a point since 2017(“World Population Prospects -
Population Division - United Nations,” n.d.). A decline in the ratio was constant till the 1990s and
since then, has improved up to 940 females per 1000 males.The total area of the country is about 2.15
million square kilometres. About 15% population falls below the poverty line (Below Poverty Line –
BPL) although this is a major decrease from the 32% that existed two decades ago. The country is

thus highly urbanized at about 85% while the poor Saudis of about 4 million live in slums and the
suburbs around the city. Although the growth rate has lessened, there is no chance for a significant
drop in the population as of now. Out of the 34 million, 10 million reside in rural areas while the other
24 million live in urban areas according to the government census.
The net birth rate has declined from 30% in the last decade to 21% after 2015. In urban areas, the rate
is lower, about 17% unlike in rural areas, where it is 23.7% (Stevens, 2019). The life expectancy at
present is 65 years which is quite an improvement from 50 years during the 1980s. But in rural areas,
the number is a little less due to illiteracy, poverty and differential socio-economic conditions. In rural
areas, lifeexpectancy lies at 70 years in rural areas and 73 in urban areas. The increase in life-
expectancy shows a decrease in mortality and an increase in quality healthcare services.
Table 1: Life Expectancy at Birth.
Period
Life expectancy in
Years
Period
Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 41.9 1985–1990 67.9
1955–1960 44.4 1990–1995 70.0
1960–1965 47.0 1995–2000 71.8
1965–1970 50.2 2000–2005 72.9
1970–1975 55.5 2005–2010 73.2
1975–1980 60.8 2010–2015 74.0