Saudi Arabia: Population and Key Statistics

AsiaCapital: Riyadh#33 by population

With a GDP of $1.1 trillion, Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Arab world and the only Arab member of the G20. One of the world's largest oil exporters, it also ranks near the top in proven oil reserves.

Aiming to make its economy independent of oil through the "Vision 2030" program, the country is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in tourism, entertainment, and giant city projects such as NEOM. About 85% of the population lives in cities, and millions of Muslims visit Mecca for the hajj each year.

Population (2025)
37.0 million
36,973,555 people
GDP (2025)
$1,277bn
nominal, current US dollars
GDP per capita
$34,537
Life expectancy
79.0
years
Area
2,149,690
km²
Population density
17
people/km²
Median age
30.8
Internet usage
100.0%

Military Strength

Military expenditure (2024)
$80.3bn
80,331 million dollars
Share of GDP
7.30%
NATO guideline: 2%
Share of government spending
22.31%
Spending per capita
$2,173
per year, per person
Armed forces (2020)
282 thousand
282,000 active personnel
Armed forces per 1,000 people
7.6
1.92% of the labor force

Expenditure figures come from SIPRI and personnel counts from the IISS, both distributed through the World Bank. Source years differ by indicator, so each figure is shown with its own year.

How Saudi Arabia compares

Saudi Arabia and China — core indicators
010 b20 b30 b40 bGDP per capita ($)Life expectancy (years)Internet usage (%)GDP per capita ($) — Saudi Arabia: 34.537Life expectancy (years) — Saudi Arabia: 79Internet usage (%) — Saudi Arabia: 100GDP per capita ($) — China: 13.862Life expectancy (years) — China: 78Internet usage (%) — China: 91,6
Saudi ArabiaChina

The indicators use different scales, so the chart is a rough visual comparison only. For exact figures see the full side-by-side comparison.

Data sourcesPopulation and social indicators: UN World Population Prospects, World BankEconomy: IMF World Economic Outlook, World BankMilitary: SIPRI and IISS, distributed through the World BankLast refreshed: 2026-08-26