Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 2,837 Square kilometres in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Saudi Arabia, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
In 2022, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Saudi Arabia stood at 2,837 Square kilometres. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is up 34.3% on the previous year and up 230.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Saudi Arabia peaked at 2,837 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 438.91 Square kilometres, in 2005.
That places Saudi Arabia 26th out of 164 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 438.91 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 857.62 Square kilometres | +95.4% |
| 2015 | 1,418 Square kilometres | +65.3% |
| 2020 | 2,113 Square kilometres | +49.0% |
| 2022 | 2,837 Square kilometres | +34.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 438.91 Square kilometres | 438.91 Square kilometres | 438.91 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 1,138 Square kilometres | 857.62 Square kilometres | 1,418 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 2,475 Square kilometres | 2,113 Square kilometres | 2,837 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 23 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 3,413 Square kilometres compare
- 24 Kazakhstan 3,174 Square kilometres compare
- 25 Argentina 3,089 Square kilometres compare
- 27 Egypt 2,756 Square kilometres compare
- 28 Malaysia 2,547 Square kilometres compare
- 29 Ghana 2,325 Square kilometres compare
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)
- Sawnwood — Export quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood — Export quantity, per capita 0.0019 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood — Export value, annual growth rate -4.34 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood — Export value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood — Export value, per capita 0.001 1000 USD per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Saudi Arabia?
- Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Saudi Arabia was 2,837 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 2,837 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 438.91 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 26th out of 164 countries with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 230.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The land cover dataset provides a global assessment of land cover and land cover change to monitor pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity. By using geospatial data with high spatio-temporal resolution, it develops a set of internationally comparable indicators with a long time series and a five-year interval from 2000 to 2022 for the Climate Change Initiative Land Cover dataset, and from 1975 to 2030 for the Global Human Settlement Layer dataset. Please see the working paper for a more complete description of the methods. The dataset has a global coverage on the national level, while on the sub-national TL2 level (i.e. large subnational regions) results are reported for all OECD countries as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The following country aggregates are included: Euro area, European Union, Advanced economies, Emerging market economies, G7, G20, OECD, OECD Europe, OECD Asia Oceania, OECD Americas, the LAC region and the World. Data source(s): Climate Change Initiative land cover data and Global Human Settlement Layer built-up area data. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Database documentation