Share of plastic waste exports in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of plastic waste exports was 0.8% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of plastic waste exports in Saudi Arabia, 1994–2024
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of plastic waste exports in Saudi Arabia is 0.8%, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 43.7% on the previous year and up 61.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Saudi Arabia peaked at 1.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1994.
That places Saudi Arabia 25th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of plastic waste exports in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0.0% | — |
| 1995 | 0.2% | +325.9% |
| 1996 | 0.2% | +26.4% |
| 2001 | 0.2% | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 0.2% | +18.6% |
| 2007 | 0.2% | -26.3% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +203.9% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | +15.9% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +8.3% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | -31.3% |
| 2015 | 0.5% | +6.1% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | +47.4% |
| 2017 | 0.8% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -17.8% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -23.0% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | +22.7% |
| 2023 | 1.4% | +131.1% |
| 2024 | 0.8% | -43.7% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 0.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 5.6× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 0.8% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.0%, 51.9× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of plastic waste exports in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +325.9% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2010 | +203.9% | 0.2% | 0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 3 |
| 2000s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.4% | 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)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 9.62 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of plastic waste exports in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of plastic waste exports in Saudi Arabia was 0.8% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1994.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of plastic waste exports?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 25th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 61.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.