Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 48.4% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia, 1955–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia is 48.4%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is up 23.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia peaked at 48.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1955.
Saudi Arabia ranks 11th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 23.7% | 22.3% | 25.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 30.0% | 26.2% | 33.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 42.3% | 39.3% | 45.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 48.4% | 48.4% | 48.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More reference data data for Saudi Arabia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1847 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9641 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0.0139 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2207 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6194 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia was 48.4% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 48.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1955.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 11th out of 180 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of the total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.