A report by the Ministry of Social Affairs has counted 22,784 persons begging in the streets of the Kingdom, 81 percent of them non-Saudis. The report, commissioned to study the extent of factors behind begging in the country, said that of the 22,784 beggars recorded only two – a young man and a young woman in Riyadh - had university qualifications. Riyadh also registered the largest number of beggars with secondary school qualifications. The report said that a total of 3,459 Saudi beggars were found across the Kingdom. The highest number of persons detained for begging was in Riyadh, where the Anti-Beggary Office recorded 11,331 beggars, followed by Abha and Jeddah. The lowest number was registered in Al-Kharj. A small number of persons – three in Riyadh and one in Makkah - detained for begging were found to be in gainful employment. The Anti-Beggary Office in Jeddah registered ten instances where female students were found begging, while Buraidah found 173. In Abha 12 male and 15 female students were detained for begging, and in Al-Ahsa 24 female beggars were found to be students. Offices in Riyadh, Makkah, Taif, Al-Ahsa, Tabuk and Hail reported no cases of persons entering into beggary because of unemployment, however. The report instead said that the main factor leading to individuals begging was that they were forced into it by their families.
