Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas was 98.9% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Saudi Arabia, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Saudi Arabia stood at 98.9%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Saudi Arabia peaked at 98.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 98.9%, in 2000.
That places Saudi Arabia 77th out of 188 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 98.9% | — |
| 2001 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 98.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 100.0%, 99% of the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 98.9% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 98.4%, 1.0× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 98.9% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 98.9% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.9% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 5 |
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 using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Saudi Arabia?
- Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Saudi Arabia was 98.9% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 98.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 98.9% in 2000.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 77th out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
- Is using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of people who use an improved drinking water source, which is either located on their premises, or at a collection point, which takes no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.