Saudi population surpassed 35 million mark in 2020

Over 35 million people lived in Saudi Arabia in June 2020, local media reported on Monday.

The paper gave the figure as 35,013,414, according to Riyadh's General Authority for Statistics' approximate calculations.

This is based on the state of play as June 2020 concluded, and signifies an overall increase of 2.3 percent, up on around 34.22 million the year prior.

The Gazette described the calculations as "preliminary".

The authority's data showed the country's gender composition to be 58 percent men and boys and 42 percent women and girls.

The number of men and boys rose by 2.5 percent on 2019, whereas the rate of increase was slightly lower for women and girls, at approximately 2.1 percent.

The numbers also demonstrated that around a third of the population are between 30 and 44 years of age, the greatest proportion of any group.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the scale, those 70 and above only comprise approximately 1.8 percent of the total.

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In July 2020, Saudi Arabia revealed it was seeking to turn its capital, Riyadh, into a metropolis of over 15 million, more than doubling its population at the time.

The Riyadh expansion is planned for completion by 2030.