Libya vs Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is 28% larger than Libya.
LibyaSaudi ArabiaLibya moved onto Saudi Arabia · Equal-area projection
0.78×
Libya is 0.78× the area of Saudi Arabia. Put the other way, Saudi Arabia is 1.28× the size of Libya.
 Libya |  Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSaudi Arabia: 1.28× the area | 1,759,541 km²#16 of 194 | 2,250,000 km²#12 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 7 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSaudi Arabia: 4.96× the population | 7,458,555#105 of 194 · 2025 | 36,973,555#43 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySaudi Arabia: 3.88× the density | 4.2 / km²#187 of 194 | 16 / km²#176 of 194 |
| Urban populationLibya: 1.04× the urban share | 88%#26 of 192 · 2025 | 85%#32 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAbout the same births per woman | 2.30 per woman#80 of 192 · 2024 | 2.31 per woman#79 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSaudi Arabia: 3.59 points higher | +1.04%#94 of 192 · 2025 | +4.63%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAbout the same birth rate | 16.5 per 1,000#88 of 192 · 2024 | 16.5 per 1,000#88 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateLibya: 2.83× the death rate | 6.5 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2024 | 2.3 per 1,000#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Libya: 3.2 points higher | 26.8%#83 of 192 · 2025 | 23.6%#101 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Libya: 2.1 points higher | 5.2%#120 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSaudi Arabia: 3.2 per 1,000 higher | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 | +3.2 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadLibya: 38.3× the refugees for its size | 2.30 per 1,000#39 of 190 · 2025 | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySaudi Arabia: 7.9 years longer | 71.1 years#125 of 192 · 2024 | 79.0 years#45 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityLibya: 1.68× the infant mortality | 7.9 per 1,000 births#124 of 191 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 3.41 per 1,000#48 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolment | — | 83.9%#18 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSaudi Arabia: 0.179 higher | 0.721#114 of 190 · 2023 | 0.900#36 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSaudi Arabia: 4.98× the income per person | $7,250#95 of 185 · 2025 | $36,070#33 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSaudi Arabia: 26.5× the economy | $48.1B2025 | $1.28T2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Saudi Arabia: 4.47× the output per person | $16,521#104 of 184 · 2025 | $73,784#19 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthLibya: 8.9 points higher | +13.4%#2 of 187 · 2025 | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSaudi Arabia: 0.2 points higher | +1.8%#124 of 176 · 2025 | +2.0%#120 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentLibya: 6.27× the unemployment | 18.8%#9 of 178 · 2025 | 3.0%#138 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in agricultureLibya: 7.5 points higher | 10.0% of jobs#109 of 178 · 2025 | 2.5% of jobs#152 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySaudi Arabia: 4.5 points higher | 18.6% of jobs#97 of 178 · 2025 | 23.1% of jobs#54 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSaudi Arabia: 3.0 points higher | 71.4% of jobs#48 of 178 · 2025 | 74.4% of jobs#31 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSaudi Arabia: 0.9 points higher | 1.7% of GDP#105 of 184 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#73 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsLibya: 42.0 points higher | 71.7% of GDP#21 of 168 · 2025 | 29.7% of GDP#104 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSaudi Arabia: 1.82× the military spending | 3.6% of GDP#17 of 155 · 2023 | 6.5% of GDP#7 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSaudi Arabia: 1.22× the share online | 82%#91 of 184 · 2024 | 100%#1 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsLibya: 1.21× the mobile subscriptions | 193 per 100#4 of 191 · 2022 | 160 per 100#20 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSaudi Arabia: 13× the forest share | 0% of land#187 of 192 · 2024 | 1% of land#175 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSaudi Arabia: 2.13× the CO₂ per person | 8.66 t a year#21 of 185 · 2024 | 18.5 t a year#8 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLibya: 3.0 points higher | 3.1%#163 of 190 · 2021 | 0.1%#183 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySaudi Arabia: 22.6 points higher | 77.4%#150 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Saudi Arabia: 3.67× the air pollution | 20.0 µg/m³#84 of 191 · 2023 | 73.5 µg/m³#2 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSaudi Arabia: 18.4 points higher | 0.1% of land#187 of 191 · 2025 | 18.5% of land#90 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSaudi Arabia: 1.0 points higher | 1.0% of land#171 of 190 · 2024 | 2.0% of land#161 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSaudi Arabia: 1.19× the water stress | 817.1%#4 of 176 · 2022 | 974.2%#3 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSaudi Arabia: 1.05× the rain and snow | 56 mm#179 of 180 · 2022 | 59 mm#178 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySaudi Arabia: 1.86 higher | −1.84#182 of 193 · 2025 | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSaudi Arabia: 2.34 higher | −1.53#183 of 193 · 2025 | +0.81#41 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2019 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Military or transitionalin transition | Absolute monarchy |
| Member of | OPEC | G20, OPEC |
| Capital | Tripoli | Riyadh |
| Currency | Libyan dinar (LYD) | Saudi riyal (SAR) |
| Official languages | Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +218 | +966 |
| Region | Northern Africa, Africa | Western Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Libya sits at about 27° N and is stretched to 1.26× its true area; Saudi Arabia at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Libya bigger than Saudi Arabia?
- No. Libya is 22% smaller than Saudi Arabia. Libya covers 1,759,541 km² and Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km².
- How many times does Libya fit into Saudi Arabia?
- About 1.3 times: Saudi Arabia has 1.28× the area of Libya.
- Why do Libya and Saudi Arabia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Libya is drawn about 1.26× its true area there and Saudi Arabia about 1.2×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Libya or Saudi Arabia?
- Saudi Arabia: 36,973,555 people against 7,458,555. Density: Libya 4.2 per km², Saudi Arabia 16 per km².
- Which is richer, Libya or Saudi Arabia?
- By gross national income per person, Saudi Arabia: $36,070 against $7,250 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 4.98× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Libya or Saudi Arabia?
- In Saudi Arabia: life expectancy at birth is 79.0 years, against 71.1 — 7.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Libya and Saudi Arabia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Libya: military or transitional; Saudi Arabia: absolute monarchy.