Saudi Arabia: Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Saudi Arabia's renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) fell 0 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.07% to 0.07%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.01 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.04 percentage points in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 0 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.00785 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 79% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2021, Saudi Arabia had the 199th highest value of the 204 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Saudi Arabia in the 2021 ranking

• Benin — 195th of 204: 0.26%
• Botswana — 196th of 204: 0.25%
• Trinidad and Tobago — 197th of 204: 0.07%
• Bahrain — 199th of 204: 0.04%
• Libya — 200th of 204: 0.02%
• Brunei Darussalam — 201st of 204: 0.02%

What this measures

Renewable electricity is the share of electricity generated by renewable power plants in total electricity generated by all types of plants.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 32 values

Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 78.23% (2021)
• Algeria — 0.91% (2021)
• Bahrain — 0.04% (2021)
• Djibouti — 35.35% (2021)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 12.2% (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 4.24% (2021)
• Iraq — 3.78% (2021)
• Israel — 7.63% (2021)
• Jordan — 24.92% (2021)

More environment data for Saudi Arabia

• Population in largest city — 7.95 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 25.42% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 18.19 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 49.21% (2025)
• Rural population — 5.69 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 15.39% (2025)
• Urban population — 31.28 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 84.61% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 161,883 (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Saudi Arabia's renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output)?

0.07% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 0.07 percentage points from 0% in 1990. The highest value was 0.07% in 2019 and the lowest 0% in 1990.

How does Saudi Arabia rank?

199th highest of 204 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) unusual for Saudi Arabia?

In 2021, Saudi Arabia's renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) fell 0 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.07% to 0.07%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.01 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA), uri: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/energy-statistics-data-browser, publisher: International Energy Agency (IEA), date accessed: 2025-03-25 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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