Land use in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Land use was 3.64 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Saudi Arabia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land use in Saudi Arabia is 3.64 million hectares, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Saudi Arabia peaked at 3.81 million hectares in 1999 and was at its lowest, 1.17 million hectares, in 1961.
Saudi Arabia ranks 68th of 223 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.26 million hectares | 1.17 million hectares | 1.38 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.66 million hectares | 1.42 million hectares | 1.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.55 million hectares | 1.96 million hectares | 3.29 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.74 million hectares | 3.48 million hectares | 3.81 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.78 million hectares | 3.76 million hectares | 3.80 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.66 million hectares | 3.61 million hectares | 3.74 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.64 million hectares | 3.64 million hectares | 3.64 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More environment data for Saudi Arabia
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 838.88 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 23.76 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 8.68 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0153 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 69.55 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0811 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 113.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.3635 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.3983 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 33.24 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Saudi Arabia?
- Land use in Saudi Arabia was 3.64 million hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land use recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.81 million hectares in 1999.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.17 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for land use?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 68th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).