Sharjah – MENA Herald: The Department of Statistics and Community Development in Sharjah (DSCD) has unveiled the results of the Sharjah Census carried out in 2015, in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The Sharjah Census provides precise statistical data in terms of population size, distribution, demographic make-up and socio-economic characteristics.
The DSCD published the book ‘Sharjah Census 2015’ in Arabic and English, which includes the majority of results, as well as the organisational basis and methods of the census programme, its design and the methodology applied in its implementation. It also includes a detailed set of illustrations and results of buildings, housing units, households and individuals in all regions within Sharjah, following international standards and recommendations for modern census undertaking.
The results indicate that Sharjah’s overall population is 1,405,843 people. There are 175,432 Emirati nationals – 86,325 males and 89,098 females – who constitute 12% of the overall population. The number of non-national residents is 1,230,417, – 834,542 males and 395,875 females – who form 87% of the overall population.
Sharjah City headed the population list for each municipality compared to the percentage of the total population in the emirate, with 1,274,749 people (90.6%). Khorfakkan City ranked second with 39,151 people (2.8%), and Kalba city came third with 37,545 people (2.7%). Al Dhaid City has 20,165 people (1.4%); Didda Al Hisn City has 12,573 people (0.9%); Al Madam City has 11,120 people (0.8%); Mleiha City 4,768 people (0.3%); Al Bataeh City has 3,958 people (0.3%); and Al Hamriyah City has 3,297 people (0.2%).
The population distribution by age group is as follows: (0-9) years old, 208,025 people, which is 14.79% of the emirate’s overall population; (10-19) years old, 132,055 people, which is 9.93%; (20-39) years old, 769,813 people, which is 54.75%; (40-69) years old, 285,143 people, which is 20.28%; (70-89) years old, 8,784 people, which is 0.62%; (+90) years old, 342 people, which is 0.02% of the emirate’s overall population.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani, Chairman of the DSCD, said: “We are delighted to unveil the results of the Sharjah Census 2015, which would have not succeeded without the support of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. We also extend our gratitude to all supervisors and enumerators, as well as the citizens and residents for their cooperation in implementing this huge national project.”
Al Thani stressed that the Sharjah census is an important data source which is instrumental in planning and implementing sustainable development strategies, and supports the national agenda of the Emirate of Sharjah and of the UAE. He pointed out that the specific results of the Sharjah Census helps to launch development projects in the emirate and highlights the potential present and future needs.
The distribution of population aged four years old and above enrolled in education by education stage is as follows: there are 253,105 male and female students in total; 32,882 students (12.99%) go to kindergarten; 102,692 students (40.57%) attend elementary school; 43,659 students (17.24%) attend preparatory school; 34,028 students (13.44%) are at secondary school; 2,435 students (0.96%) are studying for diplomas; 1,088 students (0.42%) are studying for higher diplomas; 32,685 students (21.91%) are at university; 3,177 students (1.25%) are studying for M.Sc.; 304 students (0.12%) are studying for Ph.D.; 155 students (0.06%) are not stated.
As far as marital status is concerned, the distribution of population aged 15 years and older indicates that for nationals there are 30,424 males and 29,728 females who are married; 22,547 males and 22,620 females who have never married; 858 males and 2,478 females who are divorced; 296 male widowers and 3,620 female widows; and 188 abandoned wives. For non-nationals, there are 454,597 males and 209,818 females who are married; 261,497 males and 67,154 females who have never married; 827 males and 3,951 females who are divorced; 824 males who are widowers and 5,379 females who are widows.
The distribution of the population aged 15 years and above, both males and females, by employment status shows that there are 1,125,177 people. 813,554 people are employed by others; 13,219 are self-employed; 17,898 people are business owners; 705 people work for free; 84 people work at home; 8,186 people are unemployed who have worked before; 32,724 are unemployed who have never worked before; 1,932 people are students and also work; 57,776 people are full-time students; 129,632 people do domestic work only; 5,462 people are self-supporting; 11,008 people are retired; and 6,755 people are unable to work.
The workforce includes 855,709 people, and the distribution of workforce by employment sector, for both males and females, is as follows: 29,673 people work for federal government; 45,434 people work for local government; 575,610 people work in the private sector; 17,688 people work in the semi-government sector; 912 people work in the foreign sector; 433 people work in the diplomatic corps, regional or global organisations; 35,514 people work for families, including domestic workers.
The Sharjah Census 2015 also includes the types and distribution of housing units by municipality. The total of 311,173 housing units are distributed as follows: traditional housing includes 25,569 villas; 246,241 apartment; 17,673 Arabic houses; 3,203 attachments; 91 palaces; 526 caravans; while the marginal housing includes 4,606 single rooms; 350 tents; 2,163 warehouses; 3,926 marginal housing of other types; and 2,438 collective housing.
The overall number of multi-story buildings in the Emirate of Sharjah is 6,991 buildings, which includes 240,815 apartments. Sharjah City has the largest number of multi-story buildings with 6,195 buildings, which includes 243,961 apartments. There are 285 multi-story buildings with 2,471 apartments in Khorfakkan City; 255 multi-stories with 1,194 apartments in Kalba City; 112 multi-story buildings with 965 apartments in Al Dhaid City; 35 multi-story buildings with 607 apartments in Al Madam City; 92 multi-story buildings with 475 apartments in Dibba Al Hisn City; 6 multi-stories with 62 apartments in Al Hamriyah City; 6 multi-story buildings with 44 apartments in Mleiha City, and 5 multi-story buildings with 39 apartments in Al Bataeh City.
The distribution of buildings by type of building and municipality in the Emirate of Sharjah is as follows: the total number of 84,951 buildings includes 24,900 villas; 6,991 multi-story buildings; 17,227 Arabic houses; 3,711 attachments, 95 palaces, 4,865 single rooms, 915 tents, 2,784 warehouses, 733 caravan, 1,686 stores, 6,923 establishments and 9,580 buildings under construction.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Director of the DSCD, said: “After completing, reviewing and publishing the Sharjah Census 2015, we will link the database of its results to the database of Sharjah’s governmental departments and entities as well as the federal departments in the UAE. This will enable them to lay down and implement plans and strategies for social and economic development.
“The collected data, which followed international standards and recommendations, features detailed results about the seven social categories which have been recommended by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, to be supported and given full attention. These include widows and divorced women, abandoned wives, persons who were never enrolled in schooling and now wish to do so, persons who did not complete their education and now wish to do so, orphans, job seekers, senior citizens and people with special needs. Through the collected data, the government of Sharjah will be able to deliver premium services that meet the needs and aspirations of those people across the emirate, empowering them and helping them to reach their full potential,” Al Qasimi Added.
The Sharjah Census was implemented following the Emiri decree No.7 of 2015 on conducting a general census of the population, infrastructure, housing and establishments in Sharjah. Article two of the decree calls for establishing a higher committee to supervise the census and to include a chairman and 11 members who represent all relevant governmental entities. The organisational structure of the Sharjah Census featured approximately 800 people including employees, field researchers, trained collaborators and supervisors, as well as expert researchers in population studies, information technology, geographic information systems and logistics equipment.
The programme implementation was based on three main stages; the first was the preparatory stage which took four months, during which census implementation plans were developed along with census logistics and technical requirements; the second stage was field operations and comprised the listing of building, housing units and establishments, data collection methods such as face-to-face interviewing, and self-enumeration (iCensus); the third stage was the post-enumeration activities that featured processing the census tabulation plan designed during the preparatory stage.
The collected data by the Sharjah Census 2015 will benefit all members of society with regard to strategic planning, economic and social developments in the emirate. It will provide decision makers and investors with reliable information about Sharjah’s economic, social and cultural sectors.