Rural population in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Rural population was 5.69 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Saudi Arabia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 5.69 million for rural population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.7% on the previous year and up 12.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Saudi Arabia peaked at 5.69 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.67 million, in 1960.
That places Saudi Arabia 74th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.67 million | — |
| 1961 | 1.70 million | +1.8% |
| 1962 | 1.73 million | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 1.75 million | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 1.77 million | +1.1% |
| 1965 | 1.79 million | +0.8% |
| 1966 | 1.80 million | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 1.80 million | +0.3% |
| 1968 | 1.81 million | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 1.81 million | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 1.81 million | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 1.82 million | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 1.83 million | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 1.85 million | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 1.87 million | +1.3% |
| 1975 | 1.89 million | +1.4% |
| 1976 | 1.92 million | +1.4% |
| 1977 | 1.95 million | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 1.97 million | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 2.00 million | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 2.03 million | +1.4% |
| 1981 | 2.06 million | +1.5% |
| 1982 | 2.09 million | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 2.13 million | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 2.17 million | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 2.21 million | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 2.25 million | +2.1% |
| 1987 | 2.30 million | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 2.35 million | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 2.40 million | +1.9% |
| 1990 | 2.45 million | +2.1% |
| 1991 | 2.50 million | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 2.57 million | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 2.65 million | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 2.72 million | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 2.80 million | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 2.88 million | +2.9% |
| 1997 | 2.96 million | +2.8% |
| 1998 | 3.05 million | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 3.13 million | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 3.24 million | +3.6% |
| 2001 | 3.38 million | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 3.52 million | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 3.66 million | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 3.79 million | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 3.91 million | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 4.03 million | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 4.16 million | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 4.27 million | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 4.39 million | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 4.30 million | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 4.45 million | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 4.60 million | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 4.80 million | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 4.87 million | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 5.08 million | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 5.22 million | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 5.17 million | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 4.99 million | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 4.92 million | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 5.11 million | +3.9% |
| 2021 | 4.93 million | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 5.10 million | +3.5% |
| 2023 | 5.29 million | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 5.49 million | +3.7% |
| 2025 | 5.69 million | +3.7% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 5.69 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 12.5× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 5.69 million is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.62 million, 3.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.76 million | 1.67 million | 1.81 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.89 million | 1.81 million | 2.00 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.20 million | 2.03 million | 2.40 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.77 million | 2.45 million | 3.13 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.84 million | 3.24 million | 4.39 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.84 million | 4.30 million | 5.22 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.27 million | 4.93 million | 5.69 million | 6 |
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 rural population in Saudi Arabia?
- Rural population in Saudi Arabia was 5.69 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.69 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.67 million in 1960.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for rural population?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 74th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.