Expat Life in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia holds a quarter of the world's oil reserves,. The wealth that comes along with oil has unsurprisingly attracted numerous multinational companies and expatriates in recent years.

Nearly 80% of the over 26 million residents concentrate in cities, being the Kingdom dominated by desert! There are roughly 5.5 million expats living in the Kingdom, most of whom are manual labourers from South East Asia. The number of Europeans and North Americans living in the country is estimated at 300,000.

Oil accounts for around 45% of the country's GDP (90% of their export gains). This is partly the reason why Saudi Arabia is one of the few high-income countries with a strong industrial sector. The tertiary sector is the second most important economy sector in the country. Power generation, telecoms and the petrochemical industry have been given particular attention in the last few years.

There are many job opportunities if expats have specific expertise and a high level of experience. Many expats work in the engineering, healthcare, IT and finance sectors. It is rare to go to Saudi Arabia without a job offer. In fact, a job offer is a pre-requisite to be given a work permit, and can only be requested by the company that sponsors expat workers. At the same time, sponsors are responsible for expats, their well-being and good behaviour.

Expat Life in Saudi Arabia

• Islam impacts every single aspect of life and has moulded one of the most traditional societies in the world. This means that expats need to be willing to accept a new set of values, which include gender segregation in most public places and the need to dress appropriately.
• Music and dance are important aspects of cultural life. There is a lack of cinemas and theatres in accordance to Islam, but there are festivals, such as the Al Janadryah.
• There are opportunities to socialise with other expats.
• There are not many religious sites in Saudi Arabia, as the form of Islam that is practised there is salafism.

Is there anything else that we haven't covered? Then, please let us know!

Thanks for reading our blog.
The Medibroker Team

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