GASTAT: 80% of Saudi Arabia’s Population Visited Cultural Venue Mid 2022-2023

General Authority for Statistics
General Authority for Statistics
TT

GASTAT: 80% of Saudi Arabia’s Population Visited Cultural Venue Mid 2022-2023

General Authority for Statistics
General Authority for Statistics

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics released on Thursday a bulletin of culture and entertainment statistics from mid-2022 to mid-2023.

According to the results of the bulletin, 80% of the total population of the Kingdom (15 years and older) has visited one of the venues of cultural events or activities, while 90% of the total population of the Kingdom has visited one of the venues of the events or entertainment activities.

The bulletin's results showed that 13% of individuals attended national celebrations, while 11% visited cinemas.

The proportion of Saudi individuals who visited a Saudi entertainment season was 39%, while the proportion of non-Saudi individuals who visited a Saudi entertainment season stood at 36%.

The bulletin's findings showed that 20% of individuals did not visit cultural events and activities, 40% of whom could not visit due to the lack of time.

The bulletin showed that 23% of individuals were engaged in walking activities, and 19% spent their leisure time practicing football.

The percentage of individuals who read at least one book in the previous 12 months was 37%, while 21% read newspapers and 7% read magazines.

The results of the cultural and entertainment statistics bulletin highlight data on the visited places and cultural and entertainment activities practices by individuals (15 years and over) based on the results of the survey of culture and family entertainment carried out by the General Authority for Statistics in 2023, by collecting data via phone calls.



Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Australia moved Saturday to ban mining at one of the world's largest high-grade uranium deposits, highlighting the site's "enduring connection" to Indigenous Australians.

The Jabiluka deposit in northern Australia is surrounded by the heritage-listed Kakadu national park, a tropical expanse of gorges and waterfalls featured in the first "Crocodile Dundee" film.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the national park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site -- which has never been mined -- honoring the decades-long desires of the Mirrar people.

"They were seeking a guarantee that there would never be uranium mining on their land," Albanese told a crowd of Labor Party supporters in Sydney.

"This means there will never be mining at Jabiluka," he added.

Archaeologists discovered a buried trove of stone axes and tools near the Jabiluka site in 2017, which they dated at tens of thousands of years old.

The find was "proof of the extraordinary and enduring connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander have had with our land", Albanese said.

"The Mirrar people have loved and cared for their land for more than 60,000 years.

"That beautiful part of Australia is home to some of the oldest rock art in the world," he added.

Discovered in the early 1970s, efforts to exploit the Jabiluka deposit have for decades been tied-up in legal wrangling between Indigenous custodians and mining companies.

It is one of the world's largest unexploited high-grade uranium deposits, according to the World Nuclear Association.

Rio Tinto-controlled company Energy Resources of Australia previously held mining leases at Jabiluka.

The conservation of Indigenous sites has come under intense scrutiny in Australia after mining company Rio Tinto blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020.

Australia's conservative opposition has vowed to build nuclear power plants across the country if it wins the next election, overturning a 26-year nuclear ban.