Saudi Arabia
Capital: Riyadh · High income · Pop. 35.3 million
Source: World Bank Open Data (WHO/UNICEF JMP & FAO AQUASTAT)
Sanitation tracks closely: 83.89% use safely managed sanitation services and 97.61% have at least a basic service (2024).
Saudi Arabia has about 75 cubic meters of renewable internal freshwater per person each year — below the ~1,000 m³ threshold widely used to define water scarcity. It withdraws the equivalent of 974% of those internal resources annually (extreme (over-extraction) water stress), meaning it relies on rivers from outside its borders, desalination, or drawing down stored reserves.
Agriculture accounts for about 82% of Saudi Arabia's water withdrawals, the rest going to households and industry.
Common questions
How many people in Saudi Arabia have safe drinking water?
Comprehensive safely-managed drinking-water data is not available for Saudi Arabia; basic-service estimates may exist.
Does Saudi Arabia have enough freshwater?
Saudi Arabia has roughly 75 m³ of renewable internal freshwater per person per year, and uses about 974% of it annually (extreme (over-extraction) stress).