Population growth in Arab World
Arab World: Population growth was 2.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Population growth in Arab World, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Arab World recorded 2.2% for population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 12.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Arab World peaked at 3.5% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 2021.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.1% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.1% | 2.7% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.6% | 2.3% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 1.5% | 2.3% | 6 |
More climate change data for Arab World
- Population, total 503.36 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 2.5% (2025)
- Urban population 302.20 million (2025)
- Urban population 60.0% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 22.8% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 230.73 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 205.4% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 6.4% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 5.8% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 3.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Arab World?
- Population growth in Arab World was 2.2% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Arab World?
- The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 1979.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Arab World?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 2021.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Arab World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Arab World data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.