Population growth in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Population growth was 4.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Population growth in Saudi Arabia, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, population growth in Saudi Arabia stood at 4.6%.
That represents a change of down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Saudi Arabia peaked at 6.1% in 1982 and was at its lowest, -2.6%, in 2018.
That places Saudi Arabia 2nd out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.8% | 3.7% | 4.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 5.1% | 4.2% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.7% | 5.1% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.2% | 3.6% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.5% | 3.9% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | -2.6% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | -2.5% | 4.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More climate change data for Saudi Arabia
- Population, total 36.97 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 4.8% (2025)
- Urban population 31.28 million (2025)
- Urban population 84.6% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 49.2% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 23.38 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 974.2% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 18.5% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 17.0% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 3.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Saudi Arabia?
- Population growth in Saudi Arabia was 4.6% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.1% in 1982.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was -2.6% in 2018.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for population growth?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 2nd out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.