Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals was 13.1% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia, 1992–2022
Source: AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total freshwater withdrawal.
Analysis
The most recent figure for municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia is 13.1%, measured in 2022.
That represents a change of up 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia peaked at 13.5% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 8.9%, in 1992.
That places Saudi Arabia 122nd out of 180 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of total freshwater withdrawal | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 8.9% | — |
| 1993 | 9.2% | +3.3% |
| 1994 | 9.5% | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 9.8% | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 10.0% | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 10.2% | +2.4% |
| 1998 | 10.5% | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 10.7% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 10.9% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 10.4% | -4.5% |
| 2002 | 9.9% | -4.6% |
| 2003 | 9.5% | -4.6% |
| 2004 | 9.0% | -4.7% |
| 2005 | 9.0% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 9.0% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 9.5% | +5.2% |
| 2008 | 9.9% | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 10.5% | +5.1% |
| 2010 | 11.0% | +5.0% |
| 2011 | 11.5% | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 12.1% | +5.0% |
| 2013 | 12.3% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 12.3% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 12.2% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 13.1% | +7.3% |
| 2017 | 13.5% | +3.2% |
| 2018 | 13.1% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 13.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 13.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 13.1% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.8% | 8.9% | 10.7% | 8 |
| 2000s | 9.8% | 9.0% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.4% | 11.0% | 13.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.1% | 13.1% | 13.1% | 3 |
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)
- Wood-based panels — Import quantity, annual growth rate 30.34 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import quantity, per capita 0.0564 m3 per person (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import value, annual growth rate 4.13 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia?
- Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Saudi Arabia was 13.1% in 2022, according to AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 13.5% in 2017.
- What is the lowest municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.9% in 1992.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 122nd out of 180 countries with data for 2022.
- Is municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal (domestic) water withdrawals as a percentage of total water withdrawals (which is the sum of water used for agriculture, industry, and municipal purposes).