What is emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia?

Emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia was 2.69 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Saudi Arabia?

The highest recorded value was 2.72 million tonnes in 2015.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Saudi Arabia?

The lowest recorded value was 153.99 tonnes in 1750.

How does Saudi Arabia rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Saudi Arabia ranks 8th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?

Over the last ten years it is up 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Saudi Arabia: Emissions of air pollutants was 2.69 million tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

2.69 million tonnes

Change on year

up 7.6%

World rank

8th

of 220 countries

All-time high

2.72 million tonnes

in 2015

All-time low

153.99 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

In 2022, emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia stood at 2.69 million tonnes.

That represents a change of up 7.6% on the previous year and up 11.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia peaked at 2.72 million tonnes in 2015 and was at its lowest, 153.99 tonnes, in 1750.

Saudi Arabia ranks 8th of 220 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	155.35 tonnes	153.99 tonnes	156.71 tonnes	10
1760s	158.39 tonnes	157.01 tonnes	159.76 tonnes	10
1770s	161.47 tonnes	160.07 tonnes	162.87 tonnes	10
1780s	164.6 tonnes	163.18 tonnes	166.02 tonnes	10
1790s	167.78 tonnes	166.34 tonnes	169.22 tonnes	10
1800s	172.95 tonnes	169.54 tonnes	176.38 tonnes	10
1810s	180.66 tonnes	177.15 tonnes	184.19 tonnes	10
1820s	189.51 tonnes	184.98 tonnes	194.07 tonnes	10
1830s	198.85 tonnes	195.1 tonnes	202.62 tonnes	10
1840s	207.32 tonnes	203.46 tonnes	211.19 tonnes	10
1850s	216.02 tonnes	212.06 tonnes	220 tonnes	10
1860s	228.18 tonnes	220.89 tonnes	235.53 tonnes	10
1870s	245.94 tonnes	237.18 tonnes	254.78 tonnes	10
1880s	266.37 tonnes	256.78 tonnes	276.34 tonnes	10
1890s	289.67 tonnes	278.71 tonnes	300.75 tonnes	10
1900s	325.1 tonnes	303.24 tonnes	345.01 tonnes	10
1910s	361.13 tonnes	348.75 tonnes	370.9 tonnes	10
1920s	384.05 tonnes	372.27 tonnes	396.54 tonnes	10
1930s	1,400 tonnes	365.63 tonnes	9,333 tonnes	10
1940s	56,030 tonnes	10,134 tonnes	135,193 tonnes	10
1950s	17,954 tonnes	8,493 tonnes	31,435 tonnes	10
1960s	39,075 tonnes	22,732 tonnes	58,444 tonnes	10
1970s	1.17 million tonnes	90,321 tonnes	1.57 million tonnes	10
1980s	1.19 million tonnes	877,089 tonnes	1.64 million tonnes	10
1990s	1.33 million tonnes	1.11 million tonnes	1.46 million tonnes	10
2000s	1.60 million tonnes	1.43 million tonnes	1.97 million tonnes	10
2010s	2.51 million tonnes	2.12 million tonnes	2.72 million tonnes	10
2020s	2.55 million tonnes	2.46 million tonnes	2.69 million tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

5 Russia 4.85 million tonnes compare
6 Singapore 4.03 million tonnes compare
7 Brazil 2.83 million tonnes compare
9 Japan 2.07 million tonnes compare
10 United Arab Emirates 2.06 million tonnes compare
11 South Africa 1.86 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

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)

All data for Saudi Arabia →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia?: Emissions of air pollutants in Saudi Arabia was 2.69 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Saudi Arabia?: The highest recorded value was 2.72 million tonnes in 2015.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Saudi Arabia?: The lowest recorded value was 153.99 tonnes in 1750.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Saudi Arabia ranks 8th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?: Over the last ten years it is up 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Emissions of air pollutants
Unit: tonnes
Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) are gases that are mainly formed during the burning of fossil fuels. Exposure to NOₓ gases can have negative impacts on respiratory health. NOₓ gases can also lead to the formation of ozone – another air pollutant.