Total natural resource rents in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Total natural resource rents was 25.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
25.6%
Change on year
up 47.6%
World rank
18th
of 211 countries
All-time high
87.3%
in 1979
All-time low
17.3%
in 2020
Years of data
52
1970–2021

Total natural resource rents in Saudi Arabia, 1970–2021

20406080197019952021

Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

The most recent figure for total natural resource rents in Saudi Arabia is 25.6%, measured in 2021.

The figure is up 47.6% on the previous year and down 49.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in Saudi Arabia peaked at 87.3% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 17.3%, in 2020.

Saudi Arabia ranks 18th of 211 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 49.4% 25.6% 87.3% 10
1980s 37.4% 23.9% 70.5% 10
1990s 31.1% 22.3% 47.2% 10
2000s 43.1% 32.4% 55.0% 10
2010s 34.9% 20.7% 50.2% 10
2020s 21.4% 17.3% 25.6% 2

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

  1. 15 Qatar 27.3% compare
  2. 16 Eritrea 27.0% compare
  3. 17 Kazakhstan 26.8% compare
  4. 19 Brunei 24.3% compare
  5. 20 Equatorial Guinea 23.5% compare
  6. 21 Algeria 22.6% compare

See the full ranking of 211 places →

More reference data data for Saudi Arabia

All data for Saudi Arabia →

Frequently asked questions

What is total natural resource rents in Saudi Arabia?
Total natural resource rents in Saudi Arabia was 25.6% in 2021, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The highest recorded value was 87.3% in 1979.
What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The lowest recorded value was 17.3% in 2020.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for total natural resource rents?
Saudi Arabia ranks 18th out of 211 countries with data for 2021.
Is total natural resource rents rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
Over the last ten years it is down 49.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Total natural resource rents
Unit
% of GDP
Source
The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
211 places, 9,209 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed

Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.