Population density per pixel at 100 metre resolution. WorldPop provides estimates of numbers of people residing in each 100x100m grid cell for every low and middle income country. Through ingegrating cencus, survey, satellite and GIS datasets in a flexible machine-learning framework, high resolution maps of population counts and densities for 2000-2020 are produced, along with accompanying metadata. DATASET: Alpha version 2010 and 2015 estimates of numbers of people per grid square, with national totals adjusted to match UN population division estimates (http://esa.un.org/wpp/) and remaining unadjusted. REGION: Africa SPATIAL RESOLUTION: 0.000833333 decimal degrees (approx 100m at the equator) PROJECTION: Geographic, WGS84 UNITS: Estimated persons per grid square MAPPING APPROACH: Land cover based, as described in: Linard, C., Gilbert, M., Snow, R.W., Noor, A.M. and Tatem, A.J., 2012, Population distribution, settlement patterns and accessibility across Africa in 2010, PLoS ONE, 7(2): e31743. FORMAT: Geotiff (zipped using 7-zip (open access tool): www.7-zip.org) FILENAMES: Example - AGO10adjv4.tif = Angola (AGO) population count map for 2010 (10) adjusted to match UN national estimates (adj), version 4 (v4). Population maps are updated to new versions when improved census or other input data become available. Saudi Arabia data available from WorldPop here.

Population density (people per sq. km of land area) in Saudi Arabia was reported at 14.97 sq. Km in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Saudi Arabia - Population density (people per sq. km) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Historical chart and dataset showing Saudi Arabia population density by year from 1961 to 2022.

Saudi Arabia SA: Population Density: People per Square Km data was reported at 15.322 Person/sq km in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 15.014 Person/sq km for 2016. Saudi Arabia SA: Population Density: People per Square Km data is updated yearly, averaging 7.329 Person/sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2017, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.322 Person/sq km in 2017 and a record low of 1.963 Person/sq km in 1961. Saudi Arabia SA: Population Density: People per Square Km data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Saudi Arabia – Table SA.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.; ; Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank population estimates.; Weighted average;

Saudi Arabia: Population density, people per square km: The latest value from 2021 is 17 people per square km, unchanged from 17 people per square km in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 456 people per square km, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for Saudi Arabia from 1961 to 2021 is 8 people per square km. The minimum value, 2 people per square km, was reached in 1961 while the maximum of 17 people per square km was recorded in 2019.

In 2022, ** percent of the population in Saudi Arabia lived in urban centers, whereas the remaining ** percent resided in rural areas. Since 2000, the country has witnessed a steady increase in urbanization, in addition to the influx of foreign workers, both of which have contributed to the significant disparity between urban and rural dwellers. By 2023, the GDP per capita in the country is expected to reach approximately 32,580 U.S. dollars.

In 2022, the population density in Saudi Arabia increased by 0.7 inhabitants per square kilometer (+4.89 percent) compared to 2021. Therefore, the population density in Saudi Arabia reached a peak in 2022 with 14.97 inhabitants per square kilometer. Population density refers to the average number of residents per square kilometer of land across a given country or region. It is calculated by dividing the total midyear population by the total land area.Find more key insights for the population density in countries like Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

WorldPop produces different types of gridded population count datasets, depending on the methods used and end application. Please make sure you have read our Mapping Populations overview page before choosing and downloading a dataset.

Datasets are available to download in Geotiff and ASCII XYZ format at a resolution of 30 arc-seconds (approximately 1km at the equator)

-Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020: Population density datasets for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 – derived from the corresponding Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 population count datasets by dividing the number of people in each pixel by the pixel surface area. These are produced using the unconstrained top-down modelling method.
-Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 UN adjusted: Population density datasets for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 – derived from the corresponding Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 population UN adjusted count datasets by dividing the number of people in each pixel, adjusted to match the country total from the official United Nations population estimates (UN 2019), by the pixel surface area. These are produced using the unconstrained top-down modelling method.

Data for earlier dates is available directly from WorldPop.

WorldPop (www.worldpop.org - School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton; Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of Louisville; Departement de Geographie, Universite de Namur) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University (2018). Global High Resolution Population Denominators Project - Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1134076). https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00674

The largest population group in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia consisted of **** million male nationals and about **** million female Saudi nationals in 2018. Female foreigners numbered an estimated **** million - less than half of the number of male foreigners dwelling in Saudi Arabia. According to estimates, the total population of Saudi Arabia during this time period was 33.2 million people.   Regional context    Though Saudi Arabia, with a landmass of **** million square kilometers, is the largest Middle Eastern country, population wise it in the midfield. This results in a low population density in Saudi Arabia of only 15.3 inhabitants per square kilometer. Saudi Arabia has a unique position within the Gulf Cooperation Council countries as approximately two thirds of the population are Saudi Arabian nationals – unlike the other countries in the subregion were the citizens are the minority of the population.   Population development    The population of Saudi Arabia grew between 2011 and 2017 by 3.1 percent. This is reflected in Saudi Arabia’s relatively young population with a median age of 29.8 years. The average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia is increasing as well, which indicates social and economic improvement within the country.

The share of the population in Saudi Arabia between the age of 15 and 34 was approximately 36.7 percent in 2020. This was the highest percentage of Saudi population among all age groups.

This statistic illustrates the distribution of adult population in Saudi Arabia in 2019 by wealth range group. That year, approximately **** percent of adults in Saudi Arabia had wealth of 10,000 to 100,000 U.S. dollars.

Constrained estimates, total number of people per grid-cell. The dataset is available to download in Geotiff format at a resolution of 3 arc (approximately 100m at the equator). The projection is Geographic Coordinate System, WGS84. The units are number of people per pixel. The mapping approach is Random Forest-based dasymetric redistribution.

More information can be found in the Release Statement

The difference between constrained and unconstrained is explained on this page: https://www.worldpop.org/methods/top_down_constrained_vs_unconstrained

This research study analysed the crime rate spatially and it examined the relationship between crime and spatial factors in Saudi Arabia. It reviewed the related literature that has utilised crime mapping techniques, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS); these techniques are a basic part of effectively helping security and authority agencies by providing them with a clear perception of crime patterns and a surveillance direction to track and tackle crime. This study analysed the spatial relationships between crime and place, immigration, changes in urban areas, weather and transportation networks. The research study was divided into six parts to investigate the correlation between crime and these factors. The first part of the research study examined the relationship between crime and place across the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia using GIS techniques based on population density in order to identify and visualise the spatial distributions of national and regional crime rates for drug crimes, thefts, murders, assaults, and alcohol-related and ‘outrageous crimes’ (offences against Islam) over a 10-year period from 2003 to 2012. Social disorganisation theory was employed to guide the study and explain the diversity in crime patterns across the country. The highest rates of overall crimes were identified in the Northern Borders Province and Jizan, which are located in the northern and southern regions of the country, respectively; the eastern area of the country was found to have the lowest crime rate. Most drug offences occurred in the Northern Borders Province and Jizan; high rates of theft were recorded in the Northern Borders Province, Jouf Province and Makkah Province, while the highest rates of homicide occurred in Asir Province. The second part of the research study aimed to determine the trends of overall crime in relation to six crime categories: drug-related activity, theft, murder, assault, alcohol-related crimes and outrageous or sex-related crimes, in Saudi Arabia’s 13 provinces over a 10-year period from 2003 to 2012. The study analysed the spatial and temporal changes of criminal cases. Spatial changes were used to determine the differences over the time period of 2003–2012 to show the provincial rates of change for each crime category. Temporal changes were used to compute the trends of the overall crime rate and crimes in the six categories per 1,000 people per year. The results showed that the overall crime rate increased steadily until 2008; thereafter it decreased in all areas except for the Northern Borders Province and Jizan, which recorded the highest crime rates throughout the study period. We have explained that decrease in terms of changes in wages, support for the unemployed and service improvements, which were factors that previous studies also emphasised as being the primary cause for the decrease. This study includes a detailed discussion to contribute to the understanding of the changes in the crime rates in these categories throughout this period in the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. The third part of the research study aimed to explain the effects of immigration on the overall crime rate in the six most significant categories of crime in Saudi Arabia, which are drug-related activity, theft, murder, assault, alcohol-related crimes and outrageous crimes, during a 10-year period from 2003 to 2012, in all 13 administrative provinces. It also sought to identify the provinces most affected by the criminal activities of immigrants during this period. No positive association between immigrants and criminal cases was found. It was clearly visible that the highest rate of overall criminal activities was in the south, north and Makkah areas, where there is a high probability of illegal immigrants. This finding supports the basic criminological theory that areas with high levels of immigrants also experience high rates of crime. The study’s results provide recommendations to the Saudi government, policy-makers, decision-makers and immigration authorities, which could assist in reducing crimes perpetrated by immigrants. In the fourth part of the research study, urban areas were examined in relation to crime rates. Urban area expansion is one of the most critical types of worldwide change, and most urban areas are experiencing increased population growth and infrastructure development. Urban change leads to many changes in the daily activities of people living within an affected area. Many studies have suggested that urbanisation and crime are related. However, those studies focused on land uses, types of land use and urban forms, such as the physical features of neighbourhoods, roads, shopping centres and bus stations. It is very important for criminologists and urban planning decision-makers to understand the correlation between urban area expansion and crime. In this research, satellite images were used to measure urban expansion over a 10-year period; the study tested the correlations between these expansions and the number of criminal activities within these specific areas. The results show that there is a measurable relationship between urban expansion and criminal activities. The findings support the crime opportunity theory as one possibility, which suggests that population density and crime are conceptually related. Moreover, the results show that the correlations are stronger in areas that have undergone greater urban growth. This study did not evaluate many other factors that might affect the crime rate, such as information on the spatial details of the population, city planning, economic considerations, the distance from the city centre, the quality of neighbourhoods, and the number of police officers. However, this research will be of particular interest to those who aim to use remote sensing to study crime patterns. The fifth part of the research study investigated the impacts of weather on crime rates in two different cities: Riyadh and Makkah. While a number of studies have examined climate influences on crime and human behaviour by investigating the correlation between climate and weather elements, such as temperature, humidity and precipitation, and crime rates, few studies have focused on haze as a weather element and its correlation with crime. This research examined haze as a weather variable to investigate its effects on criminal activity and compare its effects with those of temperature and humidity. Monthly crime data and monthly weather records were used to build a regression model to predict crime cases based on three weather factors using temperature, humidity and haze values. This model was applied to two provinces in Saudi Arabia with different types of climates: Riyadh and Makkah. Riyadh Province is a desert area in which haze occurs approximately 17 days per month on average. Makkah Province is a coastal area where it is hazy an average of 4 days per month. A measurable relationship was found between each of these three variables and criminal activity. However, haze had a greater effect on theft, drug-related crimes and assault in Riyadh Province than temperature and humidity. Temperature and humidity were the efficacious variables in Makkah Province, while haze had no significant influence in that region. Finally, the sixth part of the research study examined the influence of the quality and extent of road networks on crime rates in both urban and rural areas in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia. We performed both Ordinary Least Squares regression (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) where crime rate was the dependent variable and paved (sealed) roads, non-paved (unsealed/gravel) roads and population density were the explanatory variables. Population density was a control variable. The findings reveal that, across all 14 districts in that province, the districts with better quality paved road networks had lower rates of crime than the districts with unpaved roads. Furthermore, the more extensive the road networks, the lower the crime rate whether or not the roads were paved. These findings concur with those reported in studies conducted in other countries, which revealed that rural areas are not always the safe, crime-free places they are often believed to be. This research contributes knowledge about the geographical information of criminal movement, and it offers some conceivable reasons for crime rates and patterns in relation to the spatial factors and the socio-cultural perspectives of Saudi Arabian life. More geographical research is still needed in terms of criminology, which will provide a better understanding of crime patterns, particularly in Saudi Arabia, and across the globe, where the spatial distribution of criminal cases is an essential base in crime research. Furthermore, additional studies are needed to investigate the complex interventions of the effect of different spatial variables on crime and the uncertainties correlation with the impact of environmental factors. This can help predict the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors. The greater part of such an investigation will enhance the understanding of crime patterns, which is imperative for advancing a framework that can be used to address crime reduction and crime prevention.

The largest age group in Saudi Arabia was between 15 to 64 year old at about 72 percent of the population. There were sustained investments in the health sector improving key health indicators in the country prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This bar chart displays population (people) by region using the aggregation sum in Saudi Arabia. The data is about countries per year.

This bar chart displays population (people) by currency using the aggregation sum in Saudi Arabia. The data is about countries per year.

This bar chart displays population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Saudi Arabia. The data is filtered where the date is 2023. The data is about countries per year.

This bar chart displays male population (people) by continent using the aggregation sum in Saudi Arabia. The data is about countries per year.

In 1800, the territory of modern-day Saudi Arabia had a population of just over two million people. This figure would see little change for over a century, only rising to three million in the 1940s, almost a century and a half later. The population of Saudi Arabia would only see a major increase starting in the 1950s, as the oil reservoirs discovered in 1938 led to a booming oil industry which has been fundamental to the country's socioeconomic development ever since. While growth would slow somewhat from the 1980s to 1990s, partially due to the economic impact of the oil-price crash of 1986, the population would continue to increase well into the 21st century, and in 2020, just under 35 million people are estimated to live in the country.

This bar chart displays female population (people) by region using the aggregation sum in Saudi Arabia. The data is filtered where the date is 2023. The data is about countries per year.