The oil industry, construction and the service sector are largely dependent on foreign labour. This also goes for administrative jobs. Non-Saudis account for a quarter of all teachers, and an even greater percentage of public health workers. And immigrants are even more prevalent in the private health sector, which is de facto the province of foreigners since they have no right to free health care in state hospitals. Saudi Arabia's foreign workers are concentrated in the towns.
Expatriates are already in a majority in the port of Jeddah.
Riyadh, the kingdom's capital and initial starting-point of Saudi expansionism, is in the interior of the country and has been less open to foreigners. For the moment, the authorities have managed to stop the emergence of shanty towns, with oil incomes allowing plentiful housing facilities in which supply exceeds demand. Land is provided free by the government - except to foreigners who are not entitled to become landowners. In comparison, only 150,000 housing units were self-financed, and government funding for state employees and social housing account for fewer than 250,000 units. The net result is that almost two-thirds of Saudis own their own properties.