Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population was 1.8% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in Saudi Arabia, 1936–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in Saudi Arabia stood at 1.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in Saudi Arabia peaked at 1.9% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1951.
That places Saudi Arabia 8th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | 0.0% | — |
| 1937 | 0.0% | +227.5% |
| 1938 | 0.0% | +750.5% |
| 1939 | 0.0% | +662.0% |
| 1940 | 0.0% | +18.9% |
| 1941 | 0.0% | -17.6% |
| 1942 | 0.0% | +5.4% |
| 1943 | 0.0% | +2.9% |
| 1944 | 0.1% | +60.8% |
| 1945 | 0.2% | +225.2% |
| 1946 | 0.5% | +165.7% |
| 1947 | 0.7% | +33.8% |
| 1948 | 0.3% | -54.9% |
| 1949 | 0.4% | +7.3% |
| 1950 | 0.1% | -75.5% |
| 1951 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 1952 | 0.0% | — |
| 1953 | 0.0% | — |
| 1954 | 0.0% | +154.7% |
| 1955 | 0.0% | +55.7% |
| 1956 | 0.0% | -27.6% |
| 1957 | 0.0% | +24.7% |
| 1958 | 0.0% | -7.5% |
| 1959 | 0.0% | -11.8% |
| 1960 | 0.0% | +36.1% |
| 1961 | 0.0% | +33.0% |
| 1962 | 0.1% | +69.2% |
| 1963 | 0.1% | +5.4% |
| 1964 | 0.1% | -3.8% |
| 1965 | 0.0% | -42.7% |
| 1966 | 0.1% | +44.9% |
| 1967 | 0.2% | +285.6% |
| 1968 | 0.2% | +8.2% |
| 1969 | 0.3% | +13.7% |
| 1970 | 0.3% | +18.5% |
| 1971 | 0.4% | +26.9% |
| 1972 | 0.4% | +12.4% |
| 1973 | 0.6% | +28.5% |
| 1974 | 0.6% | +4.3% |
| 1975 | 0.5% | -15.6% |
| 1976 | 0.6% | +15.9% |
| 1977 | 0.6% | +13.2% |
| 1978 | 0.6% | -6.0% |
| 1979 | 0.7% | +17.0% |
| 1980 | 0.9% | +23.3% |
| 1981 | 0.9% | +6.5% |
| 1982 | 0.8% | -9.2% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 0.8% | -6.1% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | +7.1% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | +17.0% |
| 1987 | 0.9% | -9.9% |
| 1988 | 0.9% | +2.3% |
| 1989 | 0.9% | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | -12.6% |
| 1991 | 1.1% | +31.6% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | +16.3% |
| 1993 | 1.3% | +6.8% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | -3.2% |
| 1995 | 1.2% | -7.9% |
| 1996 | 1.1% | -4.8% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | -16.2% |
| 1998 | 0.9% | -3.3% |
| 1999 | 1.0% | +6.2% |
| 2000 | 1.2% | +26.8% |
| 2001 | 1.3% | +4.0% |
| 2002 | 1.3% | +4.6% |
| 2003 | 1.3% | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 1.4% | +12.2% |
| 2005 | 1.4% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | -7.6% |
| 2008 | 1.5% | +9.0% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | +9.2% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | -6.0% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | +10.6% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | -4.6% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | +6.9% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | +7.6% |
| 2020 | 1.9% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 1.9% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | -5.8% |
| 2023 | 1.8% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 1.8% | +0.8% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 1.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 22.5× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 1.8% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.2%, 10.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | +750.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1939 | +662.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1967 | +285.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 1937 | +227.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1945 | +225.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 1946 | +165.7% | 0.2% | 0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 4 |
| 1940s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More climate change data for Saudi Arabia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 134.54 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 4,043 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,830 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,213 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 6.91 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 79.03 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,017 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,002 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 15.05 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 3.78 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in Saudi Arabia was 1.8% in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1951.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 8th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 89 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured as a percentage of global emissions of CO₂ in the same year.