Municipal water withdrawal in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Municipal water withdrawal was 3.39 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
3.39 billion cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
29th
of 183 countries
All-time high
3.39 billion cubic meters
in 2018
All-time low
1.52 billion cubic meters
in 1992
Years of data
32
1992–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Saudi Arabia, 1992–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
The most recent figure for municipal water withdrawal in Saudi Arabia is 3.39 billion cubic meters, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
That represents a change of up 24.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Saudi Arabia peaked at 3.39 billion cubic meters in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1.52 billion cubic meters, in 1992.
That places Saudi Arabia 29th out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1.52 billion cubic meters | — |
| 1993 | 1.61 billion cubic meters | +6.3% |
| 1994 | 1.71 billion cubic meters | +5.9% |
| 1995 | 1.80 billion cubic meters | +5.6% |
| 1996 | 1.90 billion cubic meters | +5.3% |
| 1997 | 1.99 billion cubic meters | +5.0% |
| 1998 | 2.09 billion cubic meters | +4.8% |
| 1999 | 2.18 billion cubic meters | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 2.28 billion cubic meters | +4.4% |
| 2001 | 2.22 billion cubic meters | -2.7% |
| 2002 | 2.15 billion cubic meters | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 2.09 billion cubic meters | -2.9% |
| 2004 | 2.03 billion cubic meters | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 2.08 billion cubic meters | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 2.13 billion cubic meters | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 2.20 billion cubic meters | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 2.26 billion cubic meters | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 2.33 billion cubic meters | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 2.39 billion cubic meters | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 2.46 billion cubic meters | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 2.53 billion cubic meters | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 2.73 billion cubic meters | +8.1% |
| 2014 | 2.87 billion cubic meters | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 3.02 billion cubic meters | +5.3% |
| 2016 | 3.13 billion cubic meters | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 3.15 billion cubic meters | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 3.39 billion cubic meters | +7.7% |
| 2019 | 3.39 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3.39 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.39 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3.39 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.39 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 3.39 billion cubic meters is above the median for high income countries, which is 699.00 million cubic meters, 4.9× the median. (61 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 3.39 billion cubic meters is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 700.00 million cubic meters, 4.8× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.85 billion cubic meters | 1.52 billion cubic meters | 2.18 billion cubic meters | 8 |
| 2000s | 2.18 billion cubic meters | 2.03 billion cubic meters | 2.33 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.91 billion cubic meters | 2.39 billion cubic meters | 3.39 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.39 billion cubic meters | 3.39 billion cubic meters | 3.39 billion cubic meters | 4 |
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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.5766 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 5.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water withdrawal in Saudi Arabia?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Saudi Arabia was 3.39 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.39 billion cubic meters in 2018.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.52 billion cubic meters in 1992.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 29th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.2%. 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 – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year for direct use by the population, usually measured as the total supplied by the public distribution network.