Saudi Arabia vs Türkiye
Saudi Arabia vs Türkiye: Adult literacy
Adult literacy: 97.9% in Saudi Arabia in 2024 and 97.3% in Türkiye in 2021, by UNESCO estimates. In 2017 the value was higher in Türkiye, by 0.8 percentage points, or 1.01 times that in Saudi Arabia.
% of adults · UNESCO
What the numbers say
- Türkiye has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2004.
- The world as a whole: 86.5% in 2017.
Every year
% of adults · UNESCO
| Year | Saudi Arabia | Türkiye | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 97.9 | – | 87.7 |
| 2023 | – | – | 87.6 |
| 2022 | – | – | 87.4 |
| 2021 | – | 97.3 | 87.2 |
| 2020 | 97.6 | – | 87 |
| 2019 | – | 96.7 | 86.8 |
| 2018 | – | – | 86.8 |
| 2017 | 95.3 | 96.2 | 86.5 |
| 2016 | – | 95.9 | 86.3 |
| 2015 | – | 95.6 | 86 |
| 2014 | – | 95.4 | 85.6 |
| 2013 | 94.4 | 95.3 | 85.2 |
| 2012 | – | 94.9 | 84.9 |
| 2011 | – | 94.1 | 84.7 |
| 2010 | – | 92.7 | 84.4 |
| 2009 | – | 90.8 | 83.8 |
| 2008 | – | – | 83.5 |
| 2007 | – | 88.7 | 83.1 |
| 2006 | – | 88.1 | 82.5 |
| 2005 | – | 88.2 | 82.6 |
| 2004 | 82.9 | 87.4 | 82.6 |
| 2003 | – | – | 82.2 |
| 2002 | – | – | 81.7 |
| 2001 | – | – | 81.4 |
| 2000 | 79.4 | – | 81.1 |
| 1999 | – | – | 80.9 |
| 1998 | – | – | 80.5 |
| 1997 | – | – | 79.3 |
| 1996 | – | – | 77.3 |
| 1995 | – | – | 76.9 |
| 1994 | – | – | 76.4 |
| 1993 | – | – | 76 |
| 1992 | 70.8 | – | 75.5 |
| 1991 | – | – | 75.1 |
| 1990 | – | 79.2 | 74.6 |
| 1989 | – | – | 74.1 |
| 1988 | – | – | 73.6 |
| 1987 | – | – | 71.9 |
| 1986 | – | – | 71.3 |
| 1985 | – | 76 | 70.7 |
| 1984 | – | – | 70.2 |
| 1983 | – | – | 69.5 |
| 1982 | – | – | 68.9 |
| 1981 | – | – | 68.4 |
| 1980 | – | 65.7 | 67.8 |
| 1979 | – | – | 67.2 |
| 1978 | – | – | 66.5 |
| 1977 | – | – | 65.9 |
| 1976 | – | – | 65.6 |
| 1975 | – | 61.6 | 65.4 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- The share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a short, simple statement about their everyday life.
- Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, via the World Bank.
- The faint line is the world as a whole, as the same source counts it.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Saudi Arabia vs Türkiye
Health
- Life expectancySaudi Arabia: 78.7 years in 2023Türkiye: 77.2 years in 2023
- Child mortalitySaudi Arabia: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024Türkiye: 1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalitySaudi Arabia: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023Türkiye: 9.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionSaudi Arabia: 3.54% in 2017Türkiye: 3.72% in 2017
- Suicide rateSaudi Arabia: 2.9 per 100,000 people in 2017Türkiye: 3.3 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationSaudi Arabia: 33.3 million people in 2023Türkiye: 87.3 million people in 2023
- Population growthSaudi Arabia: 2.39% a year in 2023Türkiye: 0.23% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateSaudi Arabia: 2.28 births per woman in 2023Türkiye: 1.63 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationSaudi Arabia: 84.6% in 2025Türkiye: 89.5% in 2025
- Median ageSaudi Arabia: 29.3 years in 2023Türkiye: 32.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overSaudi Arabia: 2.8% in 2023Türkiye: 10% in 2023
- Net migration rateSaudi Arabia: 9.8 per 1,000 people in 2023Türkiye: -3.6 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingSaudi Arabia: 6.48% of GDP in 2025Türkiye: 1.91% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsSaudi Arabia: $81.5B in 2025Türkiye: $26.8B in 2025
- Military spending per personSaudi Arabia: $2,428 in 2025Türkiye: $342 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingSaudi Arabia: 23.5% of government spending in 2025Türkiye: 5.9% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelSaudi Arabia: 282,000 people in 2020Türkiye: 512,000 people in 2020
- National powerSaudi Arabia: 1.34% of world capability in 2022Türkiye: 1.25% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersSaudi Arabia: 1.92% of the labour force in 2020Türkiye: 1.61% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsSaudi Arabia: 3.04 billion TIV in 2025Türkiye: 381 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsSaudi Arabia: 3 million TIV in 2023Türkiye: 539 million TIV in 2025