Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 15.00 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Number of people 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 people.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 15.00 million people for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in 2020. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of up 51.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia peaked at 15.00 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1955.
Saudi Arabia ranks 24th of 182 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 people | 0 people | 0 people | 1 |
| 1960s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1970s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1980s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1990s | 2.85 million people | 2.38 million people | 3.32 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 5.60 million people | 4.24 million people | 6.95 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 11.72 million people | 9.89 million people | 13.55 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 15.00 million people | 15.00 million people | 15.00 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More reference data data for Saudi Arabia
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.6025 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.988 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.1508 °C (2026)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.9644 °C (2025)
- Universal right to vote 0 (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 0 (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5548 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 138.56 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 0 (2025)
- Elected parliament 0 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Saudi Arabia was 15.00 million people in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.00 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1955.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 24th out of 182 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 51.7%. 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 Number of people 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
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.