Free GIS Data Sources for Saudi Arabia (KSA)
1. Saudi Open Data Platform
- What it offers: Central government portal with over 11,000 datasets from more than 289 organizations—including spatial and GIS-relevant data. Formats: CSV, JSON, XML, plus APIs.
- Usage tips: You can browse without registering, but an account lets you use APIs and bulk downloads.
2. Riyadh Municipality Spatial Gateway
- What it offers: Regional hub with GIS layers, satellite imagery, and interactive maps for Riyadh.
- Best for: City planning, infrastructure, and environmental analysis within the Riyadh region.
3. OpenStreetMap Extracts
- Direct download: GeoJamal Saudi Arabia dataset | Geo2Day Saudi Arabia dataset
- What it offers: Roads, cities, land use, POIs in Shapefile, PBF, and GeoJSON formats.
- Best for: Transport network analysis, environmental monitoring, rapid urban mapping.
4. MapCruzín Free Saudi Arabia GIS Shapefiles
- What it offers: Administrative boundaries, coastlines, roads, POIs, and water features—layered by type.
- Best for: Beginners who want organized shapefiles ready for import into GIS software.
5. Simplemaps – Saudi Arabia Admin Boundaries
- What it offers: Level-1 administrative boundaries (13 regions) in GeoJSON and Shapefile under CC BY 4.0.
- Best for: Choropleth maps, region-based analytics, and thematic mapping.
6. NextGIS Data Portal – Saudi Arabia
- What it offers: Ready-to-use OSM-based GIS projects in formats like Shapefile, GeoPackage, GeoJSON, KML, CSV.
- Best for: Quick GIS project integration into QGIS or ArcGIS.
7. Solargis Free Solar Maps – Saudi Arabia
- What it offers: Solar radiation maps (GHI, DNI, PV potential) in GeoTIFF, PNG, ZIP under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Best for: Renewable energy feasibility studies and environmental planning.
8. GitHub – Saudi Arabia Regions, Cities, Districts
- What it offers: GeoJSON and JSON data for 13 regions, 4,580+ cities, and 3,730+ districts with metadata in Arabic & English.
- Best for: Local-level mapping, administrative lookup, app development.
9. Saudi Geological Survey (SGS)
- What it offers: Geological, hydrological, and topographic datasets.
- Best for: Earth sciences, mining, environmental management.
Quick Comparison Table
| Data Source | Format Options | Key Strengths | Ideal Use Cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Open Data Platform | CSV, JSON, XML, APIs | Government-published, wide variety | General-purpose, research, civic apps |
| Riyadh Spatial Gateway | GIS layers, imagery | High-quality, regional focus | City planning in Riyadh |
| OSM Extracts – GeoJamal, Geo2Day | Shp, GeoJSON, PBF | Detailed, up-to-date world coverage | Transport, urban, environmental mapping |
| MapCruzín | Shapefiles per feature | Organized layers, easy to use | Feature-specific analysis |
| Simplemaps | GeoJSON, Shapefile | Clean admin-boundaries with IDs | Administrative mapping / choropleth projects |
| NextGIS | Multiple vector formats | Ready-to-use project files | Rapid GIS integration |
| Solargis | GeoTIFF, PNG, ZIP | Solar-specific maps | Renewable energy planning |
| GitHub Dataset | GeoJSON, JSON | City/district boundaries + metadata | Local-level mapping, app development |
| Saudi Geological Survey | GIS, maps | Technical topographic & geological data | Geoscience and engineering projects |
