Share of students studying abroad in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of students studying abroad was 2.79 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
2.79
Change on year
down 11.1%
World rank
130th
of 175 countries
All-time high
5.61
in 2015
All-time low
2.09
in 2004
Years of data
25
1998–2022
Share of students studying abroad in Saudi Arabia, 1998–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 2.79 for share of students studying abroad in 2022.
That represents a change of down 11.1% on the previous year and down 49.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of students studying abroad in Saudi Arabia peaked at 5.61 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 2.09, in 2004.
That places Saudi Arabia 130th out of 175 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of students studying abroad in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3.42 | — |
| 1999 | 2.82 | -17.5% |
| 2000 | 2.68 | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 2.76 | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 2.79 | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 2.29 | -18.0% |
| 2004 | 2.09 | -8.6% |
| 2005 | 2.11 | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 2.21 | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 2.83 | +28.2% |
| 2008 | 3.52 | +24.3% |
| 2009 | 4.17 | +18.7% |
| 2010 | 5.21 | +24.9% |
| 2011 | 5.59 | +7.1% |
| 2012 | 5.53 | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 5.51 | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 5.6 | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 5.61 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 5.52 | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 4.97 | -9.9% |
| 2018 | 4.74 | -4.7% |
| 2019 | 4.02 | -15.2% |
| 2020 | 3.64 | -9.4% |
| 2021 | 3.14 | -13.8% |
| 2022 | 2.79 | -11.1% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 2.79 is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.28, 53% of the median. (67 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 2.79 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 5.68, 49% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.12 | 2.82 | 3.42 | 2 |
| 2000s | 2.74 | 2.09 | 4.17 | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.23 | 4.02 | 5.61 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.19 | 2.79 | 3.64 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
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 studying abroad in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of students studying abroad in Saudi Arabia was 2.79 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of students studying abroad recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.61 in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of students studying abroad recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.09 in 2004.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of students studying abroad?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 130th out of 175 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of students studying abroad rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.5%. 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 studying abroad. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).