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Life in Saudi Arabia: Every Number That Shapes It (1800–2100)

Updated July 2026 · methodology

A child born in Saudi Arabia in the 2020s can expect to live 76.9 years on an average income of 46,700 international dollars. (UN WPP / World Bank, compiled by MYRIAD)

The transformation of a single nation is best observed through the steady accumulation of these markers. When we aggregate the human experience, we find that a child born in Saudi Arabia in the 2020s can expect to live 76.9 years on an average income of 46,700 international dollars. This represents a fundamental shift in the baseline of daily existence, moving from the scarcities of the mid-twentieth century toward a modern standard characterized by nearly universal access to electricity at home and the digital reach of 98 % internet access.

The historical arc reveals a rapid departure from the 1950s, when life expectancy at birth was 44.03 years and children per woman averaged 6.03 births. Across these decades, the population shifted toward urban centers, with 84.3 % living in cities compared to 32.22 % in the past. Education saw a profound expansion, with years of schooling rising from 1.68 to 10.2 years. Simultaneously, health outcomes improved drastically, as child mortality fell from 146.02 to 7 per 1,000 births, while extreme poverty dropped from 16.21 % to 0.1 %.

For someone born in this landscape, the rhythm of life has been reordered by changing conditions and expanded potential. Today, the homicide rate is 1 per 100,000, and the average male height has reached 170 cm. While annual working hours have adjusted from 2,234 to 2,000 hours/year, the cumulative impact of these shifts defines the contemporary environment. You can explore how these statistical trends converge to shape individual destinies by calculating your own parallel life in Saudi Arabia.

🇸🇦 Every dimension below links to the full three-century series for Saudi Arabia — and to the same series for every other country, so you can see exactly where the birth lottery placed its people.

The numbers today vs 1950

Dimension1950s2020s
Life Expectancy at Birth44.0376.9 yearshistory →
Income per Person (GDP per capita, PPP)6,86746,700 intl-$history →
Child Mortality (under 5)146.027 per 1,000 birthshistory →
Years of Schooling1.6810.2 yearshistory →
Children per Woman6.032.28 birthshistory →
Living in Cities32.2284.3 %history →
Internet Access098 %history →
Electricity at Home20.51100 %history →
Homicide Rate2.541 per 100,000history →
Annual Working Hours2,2342,000 hours/yearhistory →
Average Male Height165170 cmhistory →
Extreme Poverty16.210.1 %history →

See your parallel life in Saudi Arabia →

Questions people ask

What is life expectancy in Saudi Arabia?

76.9 years in the 2020s (UN WPP / World Bank data compiled by MYRIAD).

Is Saudi Arabia a good place to be born, statistically?

MYRIAD ranks every country by a composite of longevity, income, child survival, education and safety for each birth decade — enter your details on the homepage to see where Saudi Arabia lands for your cohort.

Where does YOUR life rank? →