Passenger-kilometers by rail in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 134.65 million million passenger-km in 2018. ▼ Falling
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Saudi Arabia, 1995–2018
Source: International Union of Railways (UIC) and OECD, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in million passenger-km.
Analysis
In 2018, passenger-kilometers by rail in Saudi Arabia stood at 134.65 million million passenger-km.
That represents a change of up 171.1% on the previous year and down 60.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, passenger-kilometers by rail in Saudi Arabia peaked at 399.00 million million passenger-km in 2005 and was at its lowest, 49.67 million million passenger-km, in 2017.
That places Saudi Arabia 76th out of 101 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | million passenger-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 164.00 million million passenger-km | — |
| 1996 | 181.00 million million passenger-km | +10.4% |
| 1997 | 213.00 million million passenger-km | +17.7% |
| 1998 | 219.00 million million passenger-km | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 267.00 million million passenger-km | +21.9% |
| 2000 | 288.00 million million passenger-km | +7.9% |
| 2001 | 257.00 million million passenger-km | -10.8% |
| 2002 | 239.00 million million passenger-km | -7.0% |
| 2003 | 293.00 million million passenger-km | +22.6% |
| 2004 | 364.00 million million passenger-km | +24.2% |
| 2005 | 399.00 million million passenger-km | +9.6% |
| 2006 | 369.00 million million passenger-km | -7.5% |
| 2007 | 344.00 million million passenger-km | -6.8% |
| 2008 | 337.00 million million passenger-km | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 297.07 million million passenger-km | -11.8% |
| 2017 | 49.67 million million passenger-km | -83.3% |
| 2018 | 134.65 million million passenger-km | +171.1% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 134.65 million million passenger-km is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.44 billion million passenger-km, 2% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 134.65 million million passenger-km is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 928.17 million million passenger-km, 15% of the median. (12 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Passenger-kilometers by rail in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | +171.1% | 49.67 million million passenger-km | 134.65 million million passenger-km |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 208.80 million million passenger-km | 164.00 million million passenger-km | 267.00 million million passenger-km | 5 |
| 2000s | 321.11 million million passenger-km | 239.00 million million passenger-km | 399.00 million million passenger-km | 9 |
| 2010s | 160.46 million million passenger-km | 49.67 million million passenger-km | 297.07 million million passenger-km | 3 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 73 Serbia 191.00 million million passenger-km compare
- 74 Nigeria 173.63 million million passenger-km compare
- 75 Djibouti 145.00 million million passenger-km compare
- 77 Senegal 129.00 million million passenger-km compare
- 78 Kenya 109.24 million million passenger-km compare
- 79 Azerbaijan 104.00 million million passenger-km compare
More reference data data for Saudi Arabia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1847 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1771 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6194 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2207 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9641 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is passenger-kilometers by rail in Saudi Arabia?
- Passenger-kilometers by rail in Saudi Arabia was 134.65 million million passenger-km in 2018, according to International Union of Railways (UIC) and OECD, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 399.00 million million passenger-km in 2005.
- What is the lowest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 49.67 million million passenger-km in 2017.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for passenger-kilometers by rail?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 76th out of 101 countries with data for 2018.
- Is passenger-kilometers by rail rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 60.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from International Union of Railways (UIC) and OECD, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Passenger-kilometers by rail. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The number of passengers transported by rail, multiplied by the kilometers traveled. This is measured in passenger-kilometers.