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Saudi Arabia — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for Saudi Arabia, 1961–2025.
Latest value · 2025
4.63%
Population Growth (Annual %) · annual % · +26.3% since 1961
Population growth for Saudi Arabia was 4.63% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 6.10% in 1982. The lowest was -2.55% in 2018 (about -1.8× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.37% per year.
Saudi Arabia ranks 2 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 1%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 1.56%, so Saudi Arabia sits above it. It peaked in 1982 and has fallen 24% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 11%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
4.63%
First (1961)
3.67%
Change
+26.3%
Highest
6.10%
in 1982
Lowest
-2.55%
in 2018
Average
4.18%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.37%
Years of data
65
Recent years
| Year | annual % |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.63% |
| 2024 | 4.63% |
| 2023 | 4.64% |
| 2022 | 4.42% |
| 2021 | -2.46% |
| 2020 | 4.83% |
| 2019 | -0.44% |
| 2018 | -2.55% |
| 2017 | 0.07% |
| 2016 | 3.75% |
| 2015 | 5.19% |
| 2014 | 2.45% |
Reading this correctly. Annual population growth rate. A negative value means the population shrank, usually through emigration or low birth rates. Figures are in annual %. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.