Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Saudi Arabia

The population of Dhahran is mainly Saudi, but also includes many expatriates from Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines, as well as countries such as the United States, Canada, European countries, Turkey, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. There are also many non-Saudi Arab nationals living in Dhahran, such as Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Palestinians, Sudanese, and Syrians. According to a 2004 census the total population of the Dhahran municipality is 97,446.

Many companies that employ relatively large numbers of expatriates have built fenced-in compounds where only expatriates live, however the largest compound, the Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran provides accommodation to many different nationalities. Although built originally to house only expatriate oil company employees (mainly Americans) and once thought to provide a degree of Western comfort and separation from the restrictions of Saudi and Islamic laws, the community today has shifted somewhat in line with the reduction of western residents into a multi-ethnic mosaic of Saudis, other Arab nationalities (e.g. Egyptian and Jordanian), Asians, Europeans, South Americans, Africans and Australasians. While only employees of Saudi Aramco live on the camp, their nationalities reflect those of the company as a whole. As of 2011, the Saudi Aramco workforce was 87% Saudi, with only 13% expatriates. There are also several neighborhoods, or suburbs just outside the main Saudi Aramco Camp, such as Doha Camp (حي الدوحه) and Dana Camp (حي الدانة), where Saudi Aramco gives home loans to Saudi employees to build their own homes.