What is the highest coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions recorded in Saudi Arabia?

The highest recorded value was 3.97 million tonnes in 2016.

What is the lowest coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions recorded in Saudi Arabia?

The lowest recorded value was 14.9 tonnes in 1935.

How does Saudi Arabia rank for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions?

Saudi Arabia ranks 5th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?

Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia

Name: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Saudi Arabia: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions was 3.46 million tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

3.46 million tonnes

Change on year

up 11.2%

World rank

5th

of 220 countries

All-time high

3.97 million tonnes

in 2016

All-time low

14.9 tonnes

in 1935

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia recorded 3.46 million tonnes for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.2% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia peaked at 3.97 million tonnes in 2016 and was at its lowest, 14.9 tonnes, in 1935.

That places Saudi Arabia 5th out of 220 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	88.89 tonnes	88.19 tonnes	89.58 tonnes	10
1760s	90.44 tonnes	89.74 tonnes	91.13 tonnes	10
1770s	91.99 tonnes	91.29 tonnes	92.68 tonnes	10
1780s	93.54 tonnes	92.84 tonnes	94.23 tonnes	10
1790s	95.08 tonnes	94.38 tonnes	95.77 tonnes	10
1800s	96.61 tonnes	95.92 tonnes	97.29 tonnes	10
1810s	98.12 tonnes	97.44 tonnes	98.79 tonnes	10
1820s	100.09 tonnes	98.94 tonnes	101.24 tonnes	10
1830s	102.15 tonnes	101.49 tonnes	102.8 tonnes	10
1840s	103.59 tonnes	102.95 tonnes	104.22 tonnes	10
1850s	104.97 tonnes	104.36 tonnes	105.59 tonnes	10
1860s	106.31 tonnes	105.72 tonnes	106.89 tonnes	10
1870s	108.11 tonnes	107.02 tonnes	109.19 tonnes	10
1880s	110.64 tonnes	109.43 tonnes	111.84 tonnes	10
1890s	113.29 tonnes	112.1 tonnes	114.46 tonnes	10
1900s	102.19 tonnes	89.59 tonnes	114.72 tonnes	10
1910s	73.82 tonnes	60.86 tonnes	86.78 tonnes	10
1920s	45.32 tonnes	32.49 tonnes	57.98 tonnes	10
1930s	893.84 tonnes	14.9 tonnes	7,674 tonnes	10
1940s	50,803 tonnes	8,412 tonnes	117,113 tonnes	10
1950s	46,409 tonnes	35,822 tonnes	54,495 tonnes	10
1960s	114,232 tonnes	64,741 tonnes	175,302 tonnes	10
1970s	965,716 tonnes	312,217 tonnes	1.17 million tonnes	10
1980s	1.38 million tonnes	1.18 million tonnes	1.59 million tonnes	10
1990s	1.75 million tonnes	1.42 million tonnes	2.08 million tonnes	10
2000s	2.37 million tonnes	2.03 million tonnes	2.95 million tonnes	10
2010s	3.50 million tonnes	3.25 million tonnes	3.97 million tonnes	10
2020s	3.16 million tonnes	2.92 million tonnes	3.46 million tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

2 China 10.38 million tonnes compare
3 Russia 5.25 million tonnes compare
4 Indonesia 3.82 million tonnes compare
6 Turkey 2.99 million tonnes compare
7 South Africa 2.83 million tonnes compare
8 Iran 2.19 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More energy & mining data for Saudi Arabia

Fuel imports 5.7% (2024)
Ores and metals imports 2.9% (2024)
Ores and metals exports 1.9% (2024)
Gas production 1,338 terawatt-hours (2025)
Fossil fuel production per person, by fuel 38,695 kilowatt-hours per person (2025)
Fossil fuel production by fuel 1,338 terawatt-hours (2025)
Gas production per person 38,695 kilowatt-hours per person (2025)
Fuel exports 79.4% (2024)
Electric power transmission and distribution losses 9.1% (2023)
Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita 61.8% (2023)

All data for Saudi Arabia →

Frequently asked questions

What is coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia?: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia was 3.46 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions recorded in Saudi Arabia?: The highest recorded value was 3.97 million tonnes in 2016.
What is the lowest coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions recorded in Saudi Arabia?: The lowest recorded value was 14.9 tonnes in 1935.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions?: Saudi Arabia ranks 5th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?: Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions
Unit: tonnes
Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is an air pollutant formed from the burning of fuels that contain sulfur, such as coal. SO₂ is one of the main chemicals that forms acid rain.