Share of students from abroad in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of students from abroad was 5.71 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of students from abroad in Saudi Arabia, 1999–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 5.71 for share of students from abroad in 2024. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 38.5% on the previous year and up 19.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of students from abroad in Saudi Arabia peaked at 5.71 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.64, in 1999.
Saudi Arabia ranks 62nd of 134 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Share of students from abroad in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1.64 | — |
| 2000 | 1.87 | +14.2% |
| 2003 | 4.07 | +117.7% |
| 2004 | 2.13 | -47.8% |
| 2005 | 2.15 | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 2.15 | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 2.63 | +22.1% |
| 2008 | 2.62 | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 2.63 | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 2.97 | +13.2% |
| 2011 | 3.42 | +15.0% |
| 2012 | 3.86 | +12.9% |
| 2013 | 4.58 | +18.6% |
| 2014 | 4.8 | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 4.78 | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 4.92 | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 4.66 | -5.3% |
| 2018 | 4.57 | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 4.43 | -3.0% |
| 2020 | 4.31 | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 4.03 | -6.4% |
| 2022 | 4.13 | +2.4% |
| 2024 | 5.71 | +38.5% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 5.71 is below the median for high income countries, which is 10.58, 54% of the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 5.71 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 3.57, 1.6× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of students from abroad 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | +117.7% | 1.87 | 4.07 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.64 | 1.64 | 1.64 | 1 |
| 2000s | 2.53 | 1.87 | 4.07 | 8 |
| 2010s | 4.3 | 2.97 | 4.92 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.54 | 4.03 | 5.71 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 59 Belarus 6.62 compare
- 60 Rwanda 6.22 compare
- 61 Trinidad and Tobago 5.78 compare
- 63 Niger 5.41 compare
- 64 United States 5.3 compare
- 65 South Korea 5.27 compare
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.72 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.47 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 242,375 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 26,900 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 215,559 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,840 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.36 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.45 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.53 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of students from abroad in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of students from abroad in Saudi Arabia was 5.71 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of students from abroad recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.71 in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of students from abroad recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.64 in 1999.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of students from abroad?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 62nd out of 134 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of students from abroad rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of students from abroad. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).