Migration trends in Saudi Arabia
Middle East
13.4M people from around the world have made Saudi Arabia their home. That's 37.9% of the country population, arriving from 19 different countries
35.3M
Population
13.4M
Immigrants
236.7K
Emigrants
+13.2M
Inflow
Every 3rd person in Saudi Arabia was born abroad
The #3 largest immigrant destination worldwide
Top corridors
The largest migration routes in Saudi Arabia
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
4M immigrants · 73.6K emigrants
1995
- India overtook Egypt as the largest source of new arrivals
2000
- Libya replaced Palestine as the main destination for those leaving
- The diaspora abroad passed 100K people
2005
- Surge of immigrants from Palestine — 255.9K new arrivals
- The foreign-born population passed 5M residents
2010
- Migration accounted for 61% of the country's population growth
2015
- Bangladesh overtook India as the largest source of new arrivals
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 52%
- Surge of immigrants from Bangladesh — 1.1M new arrivals
- Surge of immigrants from Nepal — 207.1K new arrivals
2020
- Türkiye replaced Libya as the main destination for those leaving
Today
- Since 1990: 9.4M more foreign-born residents and 163.1K more citizens living abroad