CO₂ emissions by sector in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: CO₂ emissions by sector was 22.50 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
22.50 million tonnes
Change on year
up 16.5%
World rank
20th
of 187 countries
All-time high
22.53 million tonnes
in 2018
All-time low
8.94 million tonnes
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

CO₂ emissions by sector in Saudi Arabia, 1990–2023

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M25.0M1990200620231990: 8.9M tonnes1991: 9.4M tonnes1992: 9.0M tonnes1993: 9.3M tonnes1994: 9.4M tonnes1995: 9.3M tonnes1996: 9.4M tonnes1997: 10.2M tonnes1998: 10.1M tonnes1999: 10.0M tonnes2000: 10.1M tonnes2001: 10.2M tonnes2002: 11.4M tonnes2003: 11.5M tonnes2004: 11.6M tonnes2005: 11.9M tonnes2006: 11.9M tonnes2007: 13.3M tonnes2008: 13.1M tonnes2009: 14.0M tonnes2010: 16.0M tonnes2011: 18.0M tonnes2012: 17.9M tonnes2013: 17.0M tonnes2014: 16.9M tonnes2015: 17.8M tonnes2016: 19.8M tonnes2017: 21.9M tonnes2018: 22.5M tonnes2019: 21.0M tonnes2020: 19.2M tonnes2021: 19.2M tonnes2022: 19.3M tonnes2023: 22.5M tonnes

Source: Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

The most recent figure for co₂ emissions by sector in Saudi Arabia is 22.50 million tonnes, measured in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 16.5% on the previous year and up 32.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, co₂ emissions by sector in Saudi Arabia peaked at 22.53 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 8.94 million tonnes, in 1990.

Saudi Arabia ranks 20th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 9.51 million tonnes 8.94 million tonnes 10.16 million tonnes 10
2000s 11.89 million tonnes 10.14 million tonnes 13.96 million tonnes 10
2010s 18.89 million tonnes 16.01 million tonnes 22.53 million tonnes 10
2020s 20.07 million tonnes 19.23 million tonnes 22.50 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

  1. 17 Argentina 28.44 million tonnes compare
  2. 18 Indonesia 27.92 million tonnes compare
  3. 19 Algeria 27.32 million tonnes compare
  4. 21 Mexico 21.83 million tonnes compare
  5. 22 Spain 21.00 million tonnes compare
  6. 23 Pakistan 20.55 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 187 places →

More climate change data for Saudi Arabia

All data for Saudi Arabia →

Frequently asked questions

What is co₂ emissions by sector in Saudi Arabia?
Co₂ emissions by sector in Saudi Arabia was 22.50 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest co₂ emissions by sector recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The highest recorded value was 22.53 million tonnes in 2018.
What is the lowest co₂ emissions by sector recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The lowest recorded value was 8.94 million tonnes in 1990.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for co₂ emissions by sector?
Saudi Arabia ranks 20th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
Is co₂ emissions by sector rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
Over the last ten years it is up 32.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
The figures come from Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of CO₂ emissions by sector. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
CO₂ emissions by sector
Unit
tonnes
Source
Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
187 places, 6,310 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Emissions are measured in tonnes.