Mexico vs Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is 14% larger than Mexico.
MexicoSaudi ArabiaMexico moved onto Saudi Arabia · Equal-area projection
0.88×
Mexico is 0.88× the area of Saudi Arabia. Put the other way, Saudi Arabia is 1.14× the size of Mexico.
 Mexico |  Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSaudi Arabia: 1.14× the area | 1,972,550 km²#13 of 194 | 2,250,000 km²#12 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 7 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMexico: 3.57× the population | 131,946,900#11 of 194 · 2025 | 36,973,555#43 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityMexico: 4.07× the density | 67 / km²#120 of 194 | 16 / km²#176 of 194 |
| Urban populationSaudi Arabia: 1.06× the urban share | 80%#42 of 192 · 2025 | 85%#32 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSaudi Arabia: 1.22× the births per woman | 1.89 per woman#101 of 192 · 2024 | 2.31 per woman#79 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSaudi Arabia: 3.80 points higher | +0.83%#107 of 192 · 2025 | +4.63%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSaudi Arabia: 1.06× the birth rate | 15.5 per 1,000#99 of 192 · 2024 | 16.5 per 1,000#88 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateMexico: 2.7× the death rate | 6.2 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 | 2.3 per 1,000#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Mexico: 0.5 points higher | 24.1%#98 of 192 · 2025 | 23.6%#101 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Mexico: 5.4 points higher | 8.5%#90 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSaudi Arabia: 4.0 per 1,000 higher | −0.8 per 1,000#113 of 192 · 2025 | +3.2 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadMexico: 5.17× the refugees for its size | 0.31 per 1,000#86 of 190 · 2025 | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySaudi Arabia: 3.7 years longer | 75.3 years#84 of 192 · 2024 | 79.0 years#45 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityMexico: 2.57× the infant mortality | 12.1 per 1,000 births#99 of 191 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSaudi Arabia: 1.32× the doctors per person | 2.59 per 1,000#72 of 178 · 2022 | 3.41 per 1,000#48 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentSaudi Arabia: 1.74× the university enrolment | 48.2%#78 of 145 · 2024 | 83.9%#18 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSaudi Arabia: 0.111 higher | 0.789#80 of 190 · 2023 | 0.900#36 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSaudi Arabia: 2.63× the income per person | $13,730#69 of 185 · 2025 | $36,070#33 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPMexico: 1.44× the economy | $1.83T2025 | $1.28T2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Saudi Arabia: 2.85× the output per person | $25,868#78 of 184 · 2025 | $73,784#19 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSaudi Arabia: 3.9 points higher | +0.6%#164 of 187 · 2025 | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationMexico: 1.8 points higher | +3.8%#65 of 176 · 2025 | +2.0%#120 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSaudi Arabia: 1.11× the unemployment | 2.7%#149 of 178 · 2025 | 3.0%#138 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 1.6%#77 of 149 · 2024 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 42.6#26 of 149 · 2024 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureMexico: 8.9 points higher | 11.4% of jobs#104 of 178 · 2025 | 2.5% of jobs#152 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryMexico: 1.4 points higher | 24.5% of jobs#48 of 178 · 2025 | 23.1% of jobs#54 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSaudi Arabia: 10.3 points higher | 64.1% of jobs#75 of 178 · 2025 | 74.4% of jobs#31 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSaudi Arabia: 0.2 points higher | 2.4% of GDP#78 of 184 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#73 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsMexico: 9.9 points higher | 39.6% of GDP#75 of 168 · 2025 | 29.7% of GDP#104 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSaudi Arabia: 8.76× the military spending | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 | 6.5% of GDP#7 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSaudi Arabia: 1.2× the share online | 83%#85 of 184 · 2024 | 100%#1 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSaudi Arabia: 1.38× the mobile subscriptions | 116 per 100#93 of 191 · 2024 | 160 per 100#20 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaMexico: 26.3× the forest share | 34% of land#89 of 192 · 2024 | 1% of land#175 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSaudi Arabia: 5.08× the CO₂ per person | 3.64 t a year#71 of 185 · 2024 | 18.5 t a year#8 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyMexico: 12.9 points higher | 13.0%#126 of 190 · 2021 | 0.1%#183 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySaudi Arabia: 0.2 points higher | 99.8%#103 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Saudi Arabia: 4.43× the air pollution | 16.6 µg/m³#104 of 191 · 2023 | 73.5 µg/m³#2 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSaudi Arabia: 3.2 points higher | 15.3% of land#115 of 191 · 2025 | 18.5% of land#90 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landMexico: 8.3 points higher | 10.3% of land#99 of 190 · 2024 | 2.0% of land#161 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSaudi Arabia: 21.7× the water stress | 44.9%#41 of 176 · 2022 | 974.2%#3 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationMexico: 12.8× the rain and snow | 758 mm#109 of 180 · 2022 | 59 mm#178 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySaudi Arabia: 0.63 higher | −0.61#149 of 193 · 2025 | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSaudi Arabia: 1.75 higher | −0.94#149 of 193 · 2025 | +0.81#41 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateMexico: 27.7× the homicide rate | 24.9 per 100,000#13 of 146 · 2023 | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2019 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republicfederal presidential republic | Absolute monarchy |
| Member of | OECD, G20 | G20, OPEC |
| Capital | Mexico City | Riyadh |
| Currency | Mexican peso (MXN) | Saudi riyal (SAR) |
| Official languages | Spanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−6 · UTC−8 to UTC−5, 4 time zones | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +52 | +966 |
| Region | Central America, North America | 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. Mexico sits at about 24° N and is stretched to 1.2× 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 Mexico bigger than Saudi Arabia?
- No. Mexico is 12% smaller than Saudi Arabia. Mexico covers 1,972,550 km² and Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km².
- How many times does Mexico fit into Saudi Arabia?
- About 1.1 times: Saudi Arabia has 1.14× the area of Mexico.
- Why do Mexico and Saudi Arabia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Mexico is drawn about 1.2× 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, Mexico or Saudi Arabia?
- Mexico: 131,946,900 people against 36,973,555. Density: Mexico 67 per km², Saudi Arabia 16 per km².
- Which is richer, Mexico or Saudi Arabia?
- By gross national income per person, Saudi Arabia: $36,070 against $13,730 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.63× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Mexico or Saudi Arabia?
- In Saudi Arabia: life expectancy at birth is 79.0 years, against 75.3 — 3.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Mexico and Saudi Arabia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Mexico: presidential republic; Saudi Arabia: absolute monarchy.