Saudi Arabia, in the dark
29 things are true about Saudi Arabia that most people who live there could not tell you. Here they are, with the year each was measured and who measured it. Some of them will not be what you expected.
What is measured here
- Electricity access — 100%
- Share of people with access to electricity at home. Lower than 52% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Internet use — 100%
- Share of people who have used the internet in the last three months. Higher than 98% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Urban population — 84.6%
- Share of people living in areas classed as urban. Higher than 83% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Children per woman — 2.31
- Births per woman over a lifetime, at current rates. Higher than 59% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Life expectancy — 79 yrs
- How long a person born now would live at current mortality rates. Higher than 77% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Safe sanitation — 83.9%
- Share of people with a toilet whose waste is safely treated. Higher than 69% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Forest cover — 0.5%
- Land under trees taller than five metres, as a share of all land area. Lower than 95% of countries. Measured 2023.
- CO₂ per person — 18.5 t
- Carbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by population. Land use and forests are not counted. Higher than 96% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Aged 65 and over — 3.1%
- Share of the whole population aged 65 and above. Lower than 89% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Aged under 15 — 23.6%
- Share of the whole population aged 0 to 14. Lower than 54% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Women in parliament — 19.9%
- Seats held by women in the lower or single chamber of the national parliament. Lower than 66% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Mobile subscriptions — 160 per 100
- Active mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people. Over 100 means more lines than people. Higher than 89% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Renewable energy — 0.1%
- Renewable sources as a share of all final energy used, including heating and transport, not just electricity. Lower than 98% of countries. Measured 2021.
- People per km² — 16
- Population divided by land area. A square kilometre is about 140 football pitches. Lower than 91% of countries. Measured 2023.
- Income per person — 73,784 int. $
- GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods in every country. Higher than 90% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Health spending per person — 1825 US$
- All health spending, public and private, divided by population, in US dollars. Higher than 78% of countries. Measured 2023.
- Born abroad — 40.3%
- People born in another country, as a share of everyone living here. Higher than 94% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Infant mortality — 4.7 per 1,000
- Deaths before age one per 1,000 live births. Lower than 77% of countries. Measured 2024.
- University enrolment — 83.9%
- People enrolled in university or college, as a share of the five-year age group just out of school. It can go over 100%. Higher than 88% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Protected land and sea — 17%
- Nationally designated protected areas, land and sea together, as a share of total territory. Higher than 65% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Air pollution (PM2.5) — 73.5 µg/m³
- Average yearly exposure to PM2.5, particles small enough to reach the lungs. The WHO guideline is 5. Higher than 99% of countries. Measured 2023.
- Doctors per 1,000 — 3.41
- Medical doctors, general and specialist, per 1,000 people. Higher than 74% of countries. Measured 2023.
- Home broadband — 44.1 per 100
- Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people. One line usually serves a whole household. Higher than 92% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Women in work — 33.6%
- Women aged 15 and over in the labour force, as a share of all women that age. Lower than 87% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Money sent home — 0% of GDP
- Personal transfers received from people living and working abroad, as a share of GDP. Lower than 100% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Tourist arrivals — 20,292,000
- Overnight visitors arriving from abroad in one year. One person visiting twice counts twice. Higher than 93% of countries. Measured 2019.
- Population growth — 4.63% a year
- Yearly change in population, from births, deaths and migration together. Higher than 99% of countries. Measured 2025.
- Adults who smoke — 14.7%
- Adults aged 15 and over who currently use any tobacco product. Lower than 62% of countries. Measured 2024.
- Spent on research — 0.64% of GDP
- Spending on research and development, public and private, as a share of GDP. Higher than 55% of countries. Measured 2024.
The world's attention, 2026-09-24
The world wrote about Saudi Arabia more than 92% of countries in the last day, and what it wrote was darker than average (tone -0.64). Aggregate counts only — no headlines, no links, no text from the feed.
Where the dark hides things
The game scatters its findings across real towns. In Saudi Arabia those are Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah, Medina, At Taif, Hofuf, Al Hillah, Tabuk, Buraydah, Hail, Najran, Al-Qatif, Al Mubarraz, Al Kharj, Yanbu al Bahr, Hafar al Batin, Al Jubayl, Arar, Abha.
Walk it
Uncertainity is a short, experimental browser game — free, no sign-up, a few minutes. It gives you the country you are actually in, as a dark map of its real coastline, and nothing exists until you have been near it. Each day six of the numbers above are hidden in its towns — a different six tomorrow — and a seventh comes from how the world's attention fell on the place today.
New episodes arrive from time to time rather than on a schedule: geography, current affairs, whatever turns out to be worth walking through. Subscribe and you get one email when one lands, and nothing else.
Play it