# Saudi Arabia — national dossier Saudi Arabia — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 45 indicators, each… Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/SAU Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year) ## Overview - Official name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Capital: Riyadh - Region: Western Asia, Asia - Population: 29 m - Area: 2,149,690 km² - Languages: Arabic - Currency: Saudi riyal (SAR) A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Economy | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | GDP | $1.28 T | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP per capita | $34,537 | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP growth | 4.5% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Inflation | 2.1% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Trade openness | 57.9% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | ## Society | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Population | 37 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Life expectancy | 79.0 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Urban population | 84.6% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Fertility rate | 2.3 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Literacy rate | 97.9% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | ## Governance | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 29.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Political stability | 65.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Government effectiveness | 66.6 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Regulatory quality | 66.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Rule of law | 60.6 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Control of corruption | 63.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | ## Health | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 5.7% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Physicians | 3.41 | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Under-5 mortality | 6.0 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | | Measles immunisation | 96.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | ## Education | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 97.9% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Education spending | 4.5% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Primary enrolment | 104.0% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Secondary enrolment | 110.7% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Tertiary enrolment | 83.9% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | ## Technology | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.6% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Researchers (per million) | 1,235 | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Internet users | 100.0% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | Mobile subscriptions | 160 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | High-tech exports | 0.5% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | ## Geography | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Land area | 2,149,690 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Forest area | 0.5% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Agricultural land | 80.8% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 18.5 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Renewable energy | 0.1% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | ## Resources | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 25.6% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Oil rents | 23.7% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Mineral rents | 0.2% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Bauxite | 5.7 Mt | 2025 | Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 | | Phosphate rock | 10 Mt | 2025 | Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 | ## Military | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 7.3% | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Defense spending | $80 B | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Armed forces | 282,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:SAU::) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/SAU.claims.json History: "From the incense roads of ancient Arabia and the cradle of Islam to the oil-fueled kingdom of the Al Saud." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/SAU/chronicle.md (6 eras, 27 events). ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Citation template: Terralore, "Saudi Arabia — national dossier", terralore.co/country/SAU, retrieved .