2 million marriageable Saudi women yet to tie the knot

In this Dec. 11, 2015 file photo, Saudi women shop at a mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)

DAMMAM: The number of marriageable Saudi women, above 15, was 2,099,750 

in 2015, according to data released by the general authority for statistics.
In stark contrast, the number of men aged 15 to 39 who never got married stands

 at merely 107,673, pointing to a huge gap between the social status of men and

 women in the Kingdom.
Last year, the figures released by the Ministry of Economy and Planning for 2014 of

 unmarried women and men were 1.4 million and 600,000, respectively. 
A comparison of the figures of these two years indicates that the number of men and 

women who are yet to be married is growing rapidly.
Official statistics also show that the number of unmarried men and women has grown 

15 times compared to 1995.
Abdullah Obaid Al-Omari, professor of sociology at the social studies department of King 

Saud University, said women do not enter marriages due to social and economic reasons. 
Women are keener to work and want more financial independence. This often makes them postpone marriage until after graduating from university and often until after getting 

employed.
The growing cost of living, the low salaries of many youths and the very high cost of

 marriage, which could reach SR200,000, are some of the reasons women marry late. 
Another reason is social: Some Saudi families will not allow their daughters to marry 

except in certain tribes, which limits the choice of many young women.