Human caused air pollution exposure in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Human caused air pollution exposure was 37.51 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
37.51
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
11th
of 240 countries
All-time high
41.91
in 2022
All-time low
26.1
in 1998
Years of data
27
1998–2024
Human caused air pollution exposure in Saudi Arabia, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 37.51 for human caused air pollution exposure in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human caused air pollution exposure in Saudi Arabia peaked at 41.91 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 26.1, in 1998.
Saudi Arabia ranks 11th of 240 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Human caused air pollution exposure in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 26.1 | — |
| 1999 | 30.08 | +15.2% |
| 2000 | 30.65 | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 27.37 | -10.7% |
| 2002 | 28.57 | +4.4% |
| 2003 | 29.99 | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 27.05 | -9.8% |
| 2005 | 30.14 | +11.4% |
| 2006 | 33.6 | +11.5% |
| 2007 | 33.06 | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 35.24 | +6.6% |
| 2009 | 35.4 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 37.79 | +6.8% |
| 2011 | 39.26 | +3.9% |
| 2012 | 36.34 | -7.4% |
| 2013 | 34.14 | -6.1% |
| 2014 | 36.84 | +7.9% |
| 2015 | 37.65 | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 36.98 | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 39.96 | +8.1% |
| 2018 | 38.86 | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 39.34 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 36.83 | -6.4% |
| 2021 | 39.83 | +8.1% |
| 2022 | 41.91 | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 37.63 | -10.2% |
| 2024 | 37.51 | -0.3% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 37.51 is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.08, 4.6× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 37.51 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 25.47, 1.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 28.09 | 26.1 | 30.08 | 2 |
| 2000s | 31.11 | 27.05 | 35.4 | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.72 | 34.14 | 39.96 | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.74 | 36.83 | 41.91 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More environment data for Saudi Arabia
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate -0.0134 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0001 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 3.63 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 62.36 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.53 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human caused air pollution exposure in Saudi Arabia?
- Human caused air pollution exposure in Saudi Arabia was 37.51 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 41.91 in 2022.
- What is the lowest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.1 in 1998.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for human caused air pollution exposure?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 11th out of 240 countries with data for 2024.
- Is human caused air pollution exposure rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Human caused air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).