[Saudi Arabia] Gregorian calendar to be used for all official procedures

Saudi Arabia has officially endorsed the use of the Gregorian calendar for all governmental matters, SAMAA reports.

The decision came during an October 31 cabinet meeting, presided over by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman.

The Council of Ministers reportedly reached a unanimous agreement to adopt the Gregorian calendar for measuring time in all official procedures and transactions.

Specific exceptions will, however, apply when dealing with durations related to Islamic Sharia rulings based on calculations from the lunar Hijri calendar or when there is an explicit requirement to use the Hijri calendar for calculating time periods.

In 2012, Saudi Arabia imposed a ban on the use of the Gregorian calendar in official dealings by both government and private agencies.

During that period, ministries, and organisations were obligated to adhere strictly to Hijri dates and the Arabic language. They were only permitted to refer to the Gregorian calendar if it was connected to the corresponding Hijri date.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has undergone substantial socio-economic transformations and is now home to a large community of foreign workers as part of the nation’s increasing global integration.

In May, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics reported that the total population of the kingdom stood at 32.2 million with foreigners constituting approximately 41.5 per cent, or 13.4 million individuals, according to census data.

The data indicated that, among the foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia, Asian citizens from three particular countries constitute more than 42 per cent of the total foreign population.

Top of that list are Bangladeshi nationals, they reportedly account for 15.08 per cent of the overall expatriate population in Saudi Arabia with a total of 2.1 million. They are followed by Indians, numbering 1.88 million people and Pakistanis, with 1.81 million residents.

Yemenis rank fourth among expatriate communities with 1.8 million, while Egyptians and Sudanese people represent 1.4 million and 819,000 of the population, respectively.

Filipinos and Syrians are also a significant number to the foreign population, with 725,000 and 449,000 resident individuals.

Source: SAMAA

Saudi Arabia has officially endorsed the use of the Gregorian calendar for all governmental matters, SAMAA reports.

The decision came during an October 31 cabinet meeting, presided over by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman.

The Council of Ministers reportedly reached a unanimous agreement to adopt the Gregorian calendar for measuring time in all official procedures and transactions.

Specific exceptions will, however, apply when dealing with durations related to Islamic Sharia rulings based on calculations from the lunar Hijri calendar or when there is an explicit requirement to use the Hijri calendar for calculating time periods.

In 2012, Saudi Arabia imposed a ban on the use of the Gregorian calendar in official dealings by both government and private agencies.

During that period, ministries, and organisations were obligated to adhere strictly to Hijri dates and the Arabic language. They were only permitted to refer to the Gregorian calendar if it was connected to the corresponding Hijri date.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has undergone substantial socio-economic transformations and is now home to a large community of foreign workers as part of the nation’s increasing global integration.

In May, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics reported that the total population of the kingdom stood at 32.2 million with foreigners constituting approximately 41.5 per cent, or 13.4 million individuals, according to census data.

The data indicated that, among the foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia, Asian citizens from three particular countries constitute more than 42 per cent of the total foreign population.

Top of that list are Bangladeshi nationals, they reportedly account for 15.08 per cent of the overall expatriate population in Saudi Arabia with a total of 2.1 million. They are followed by Indians, numbering 1.88 million people and Pakistanis, with 1.81 million residents.

Yemenis rank fourth among expatriate communities with 1.8 million, while Egyptians and Sudanese people represent 1.4 million and 819,000 of the population, respectively.

Filipinos and Syrians are also a significant number to the foreign population, with 725,000 and 449,000 resident individuals.

Source: SAMAA