8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Asia / Western Asia

Born in Saudi Arabia

About 1 in 242 people born in 2023 started life in Saudi Arabia. A boy can expect to live 77 years and a girl 81, up from 38 and 43 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 242
odds of being born here
546,000 births · Ranked 50th of 230
77 / 81
years of life, boys / girls
Was 38 / 43 in 1950
$64,482
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 10th of 203
84%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 39 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 320 in every 1,000 births to 6.2.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

0255075100195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth77.1 years for boys, 81.2 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 56.2 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year78,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people3.4World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles97%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.1%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year8 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.6 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.3.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.28UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth30.1 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

Economic output per personabout $64,482 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank WDI
Unemployment4.0% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises2.5% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person-4.0% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming3% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed6% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment116% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Jeddah, with 4.7 million people.

84%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
99%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Jeddah4.7 million
Riyadh4.2 million
Makkah1.6 million
Madinah1.3 million
Dammam1.3 million
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Arabic100%
Najdi Arabic3%
Arabic is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Mecca Region7.3 million
Riyadh Region5.1 million
Eastern Province3.3 million
Medina Region2.5 million
Al-Qassim Region1.2 million
'Asir Region979,277
Tabuk Region787,089
Ha'il Region653,868
Najran Region528,904
Jazan Region486,022

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 13 regions
  • Mecca Region7.3 million
  • Riyadh Region5.1 million
  • Eastern Province3.3 million
  • Medina Region2.5 million
  • Al-Qassim Region1.2 million
  • 'Asir Region979,277
  • Tabuk Region787,089
  • Ha'il Region653,868
  • Najran Region528,904
  • Jazan Region486,022
  • Al Jawf Region296,903
  • Northern Borders Region255,373
  • Al Bahah Region178,744

People on the move

About 0.7% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Turkey, Libya, Canada.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Turkey61,221
Libya40,027
Canada35,996
Residents born abroad40.3% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 0.7% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostTurkey (61,221), Libya (40,027), Canada (35,996)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $350.6 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

25% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 3%.

25%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
3%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20249,646Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence522 between 1991 and 2017UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Saudi Arabia, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Saudi Arabia

Elsewhere in Asia

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences