Drinking water services in rural areas in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Drinking water services in rural areas was 9,357 people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water services in rural areas in Saudi Arabia, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, drinking water services in rural areas in Saudi Arabia stood at 9,357 people.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Saudi Arabia peaked at 9,473 people in 2016 and was at its lowest, 6,057 people, in 2000.
Saudi Arabia ranks 83rd of 178 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6,057 people | — |
| 2001 | 6,308 people | +4.1% |
| 2002 | 6,554 people | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 6,796 people | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 7,033 people | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 7,266 people | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 7,494 people | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 7,719 people | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 7,940 people | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 8,159 people | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 8,374 people | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 8,584 people | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 8,789 people | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 8,988 people | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 9,181 people | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 9,367 people | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 9,473 people | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 9,367 people | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 9,115 people | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 9,022 people | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 9,047 people | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 9,017 people | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 9,129 people | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 9,301 people | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 9,357 people | +0.6% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 9,357 people is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 3,275 people, 2.9× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7,133 people | 6,057 people | 8,159 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 9,026 people | 8,374 people | 9,473 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 9,170 people | 9,017 people | 9,357 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More environment data for Saudi Arabia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -52.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -27.86 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.424 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.58 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 9.62 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in rural areas in Saudi Arabia?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Saudi Arabia was 9,357 people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 9,473 people in 2016.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6,057 people in 2000.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 83rd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Drinking water services in rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.