Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals was 81.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia, 1992–2022
Source: AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total freshwater withdrawal.
Analysis
In 2022, agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia stood at 81.6%. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia peaked at 90.0% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 81.6%, in 2018.
Saudi Arabia ranks 45th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of total freshwater withdrawal | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 90.0% | — |
| 1993 | 89.6% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 89.3% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 89.0% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 88.7% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 88.5% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 88.2% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 88.0% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 87.7% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 87.9% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 88.0% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 88.1% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 88.3% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 88.1% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 88.0% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 87.4% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 86.7% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 86.1% | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 85.4% | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 84.6% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 83.9% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 83.7% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 83.8% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 83.9% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 82.7% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 82.2% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 81.6% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 81.6% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 81.6% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 81.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 81.6% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 88.9% | 88.0% | 90.0% | 8 |
| 2000s | 87.6% | 86.1% | 88.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.3% | 81.6% | 85.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.6% | 81.6% | 81.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More agriculture & rural data for Saudi Arabia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0259 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 894.48 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 3.68 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1539 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia?
- Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia was 81.6% in 2022, according to AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 90.0% in 1992.
- What is the lowest agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 81.6% in 2018.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 45th out of 180 countries with data for 2022.
- Is agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Agricultural water withdrawals as a percentage of total water withdrawals (which is the sum of water used for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes). Agricultural water is defined as the annual quantity of self-supplied water withdrawn for irrigation, livestock and aquaculture purposes.