Polity · 1936 CE – present
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
السعودية · المملكة العربية السعودية · Arab Saudi
Also recorded as Saudi Arabia
- Peak recorded area
- 1,929,200 km²
- 1990 CE
- Rulers on record
- 14
- from 1932 CE
- Data series
- 413
- 1936 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the largest in the Middle East, and the twelfth-largest in the world.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
13 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 62 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population219 obs · 1820 CE–2025 CE | 34.6Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 79.2years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 119.7Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1.75% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 81.51years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 77.56years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 132 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 58.1Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd112 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 1.3Tcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Total Exports88 obs · 1927 CE–2014 CE | 333.3Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports88 obs · 1927 CE–2014 CE | 170.2Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance88 obs · 1927 CE–2014 CE | 163.1Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness88 obs · 1927 CE–2014 CE | 503.5Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 62 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP116 obs · 1963 CE–2024 CE | 7.3% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| CINC Score90 obs · 1927 CE–2016 CE | 0.0145CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption90 obs · 1927 CE–2016 CE | 467.2Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production90 obs · 1927 CE–2016 CE | 5.5Mtons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel90 obs · 1927 CE–2016 CE | 227Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Arms Imports Tiv Million71 obs · 1952 CE–2024 CE | 1,238tiv_million2024 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
Territory & resources
6 of 73 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 1.6% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Gas Production125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 1,214.82TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 5,933.26TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 0.4545% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 80.77%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.1018hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 26 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index233 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.015index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index233 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.047index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index233 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.021index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index233 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.385index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity287 obs · 1926 CE–2012 CE | -10index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index233 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.088index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Radios87 obs · 1902 CE–1999 CE | 6,780count1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Newspaper Circulation54 obs · 1946 CE–1999 CE | 1.3Mcirculation1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tertiary Enrollment Gross %52 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 83.88%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Railway Line Km51 obs · 1945 CE–1998 CE | 1,036km1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Dpt Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 97%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
14 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Ibn SaudHead of State1932 CE – 1953 CE
- Ibn SaudHead of Government1932 CE – 1953 CE
- Saud of Saudi ArabiaHead of State1953 CE – 1964 CE
- Saud of Saudi ArabiaHead of Government1953 CE – 1964 CE
- King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al SaudHead of State1964 CE – 1975 CE
- King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al SaudHead of Government1964 CE – 1975 CE
- Khalid of Saudi ArabiaHead of State1975 CE – 1982 CE
- Khalid of Saudi ArabiaHead of Government1975 CE – 1982 CE
- Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al SaudHead of State1982 CE – 2005 CE
- Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al SaudHead of Government1982 CE – 2005 CE
- Abdullah of Saudi ArabiaHead of State2005 CE – 2015 CE
- Abdullah of Saudi ArabiaHead of Government2005 CE – 2015 CE
- Salman bin Abdulaziz Al SaudHead of State2015 CE –
- Salman bin Abdulaziz Al SaudHead of Government2015 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
- Government type
- absolute monarchy
- Executive branch
- chief of state: King SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 23 January 2015); head of government: Crown Prince and Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 27 September 2022); cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch every 4 years and includes many royal family members;
- Ethnic groups
- Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
- Natural resources
- petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
- Economy
- high-income, oil-based Middle Eastern economy; OPEC founding member; Vision 2030 strategy prioritizing economic diversification, increased private sector involvement, and projects funded by sovereign wealth fund and foreign investment; young labor force; falling but significant poverty rate despite lack of official statistics
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- Saudi riyals (SAR)
Memberships
- Saudi Arabia–Yemen Arab Republic Non-Aggression Pact (1934)Historical alliance · member1934 CE – 1962 CE
- Iraq–Saudi Arabia–Yemen Arab Republic Entente (1936)Historical alliance · member1936 CE – 1956 CE
- 23-member Entente (1945)Historical alliance · member1945 CE –
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
- Arab LeagueALInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
- 21-member Defense Pact (1950)Military alliance · member1950 CE –
- Egypt–Saudi Arabia Defense Pact (1955)Military alliance · member1955 CE – 1956 CE
- Egypt–Saudi Arabia–Yemen Arab Republic Defense Pact (1956)Military alliance · member1956 CE – 1962 CE
- OPECOPECEconomic bloc · founding member1960 CE –
- Jordan–Saudi Arabia Entente (1962)Historical alliance · member1962 CE – 1967 CE
- Organisation of Islamic CooperationOICInternational organisation · founding member1969 CE –
- GCCGCCEconomic bloc · founding member1981 CE –
- Iraq–Saudi Arabia Non-Aggression Pact (1989)Historical alliance · member1989 CE – 1990 CE
- G20G20Political union · founding member1999 CE –
- 6-member Defense Pact (2000)Military alliance · member2000 CE –
- BRICSBRICSEconomic bloc · member2024 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.