Free GIS Data for Saudi Arabia (KSA): Sources for QGIS and ArcGIS
Finding reliable GIS data for Saudi Arabia can be difficult because datasets are spread across government portals, international research projects, OpenStreetMap-based services, and specialist providers. The best source depends on what you are mapping: administrative boundaries, roads, buildings, population, elevation, geology, climate, land cover, or satellite imagery.
This guide organizes useful sources for Saudi Arabia GIS data and explains what each source is suitable for, what format you may receive, how current the data is likely to be, and what you should check before using it in QGIS, ArcGIS, or a Python workflow.
Important: “Free to download” does not always mean “free for every use.” Check the licence, attribution requirement, update date, geographic coverage, and accuracy before using data in coursework, research, a public map, or commercial work.
The best starting points
For official Saudi datasets, start with the Saudi Open Data Platform and relevant government or municipal portals. For general roads, buildings, places, and other map features, use OpenStreetMap-based downloads. For a quick regional boundary map, SimpleMaps is convenient, but its files are simplified and should not be treated as authoritative survey boundaries. For population rasters, WorldPop can be useful for spatial estimation, but its modeled values should not be presented as a current official census count.
1. Saudi Open Data Platform
The Saudi Open Data Platform is the first place to search for datasets published by Saudi government organizations. Its catalogue can include statistical, environmental, administrative, infrastructure, transport, and other public-sector datasets. Availability, format, metadata, and download options vary from one dataset to another.
Best for
- Government-published statistics
- Administrative and municipal information
- Transport and infrastructure datasets
- Environmental and public-service data
- Data that needs an official Saudi source
How to search
Search in both English and Arabic where possible. Useful terms may include:
- Saudi Arabia boundaries
- regions
- governorates
- municipalities
- roads
- land use
- population
- water
- environment
- elevation
- coordinates
Open a dataset record and check its publisher, update date, geographic coverage, field definitions, file format, coordinate reference system, licence or terms, and whether the download is a complete dataset or an API response.
What to check before using a dataset
A government catalogue entry does not automatically mean that every file is ready for spatial analysis. Confirm whether the dataset has geometry, whether the coordinates are defined, whether the geographic level is national, regional, or municipal, and whether the Arabic and English names refer to the same identifiers.
If the portal provides CSV, JSON, XML, or API access rather than a Shapefile or GeoPackage, you may need to create geometry or convert the data in QGIS or Python. Keep the original download and record the access date.
2. Saudi national GIS and geospatial portals
Saudi Arabia also provides national geospatial information through official mapping and geospatial initiatives. The Saudi government GIS information page describes the role of the official national map and geographic information services, although access and individual dataset availability may change over time.
The General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information is an important organization to check for national geospatial policies, standards, reference information, and official geospatial initiatives. Its National Geospatial Data Policies and Standards resource is particularly useful when a project needs to follow Saudi geospatial standards rather than simply download a boundary file.
Use official national sources when the project involves authoritative boundaries, surveying, national infrastructure, regulated data, or a deliverable that must meet a government standard. Public availability may depend on the dataset, user account, terms, and service conditions.
3. Riyadh municipal and regional open data
For work focused on Riyadh, check the Riyadh Municipality open-data and spatial resources. Municipal data can be more useful than a national dataset when the project concerns urban planning, local infrastructure, land use, public facilities, development, or environmental conditions within Riyadh.
Before downloading, check whether the resource is:
- A GIS layer or only a web map
- A static file or a live service
- Limited to a municipality or wider region
- Available for reuse and redistribution
- Published in a coordinate system that QGIS or ArcGIS can identify
A web map is not automatically a downloadable dataset. If a portal provides a WMS, WFS, ArcGIS REST service, or another API, read the service documentation and record the endpoint and date used in your project.
4. OpenStreetMap data for Saudi Arabia
OpenStreetMap is a strong source for roads, paths, buildings, place names, land use, waterways, points of interest, and other volunteered geographic information. It is especially useful when you need broad feature coverage and the project can tolerate variation in completeness.
OpenStreetMap data is available under the OpenStreetMap Licence (ODbL). You must provide appropriate attribution, and some uses may trigger share-alike obligations for a database derived from the data. Read the licence before publishing or redistributing a derived database.
Ways to download Saudi OSM data
You can obtain Saudi Arabia extracts through services such as:
- Geofabrik downloads, where available for regional extracts
- BBBike extracts, which can create custom-area extracts
- Overpass API, for targeted feature queries
- NextGIS Saudi Arabia data, which provides a regularly updated, packaged product but is not a free download
The original article linked to several OSM extract sites. Those can be useful, but check the download date, licence statement, source, and whether the service is still maintained before relying on it.
Good uses for OSM
- Road and route-network analysis
- Building and settlement mapping
- Points of interest
- Urban growth studies
- Accessibility and service-area analysis
- Rapid map creation
- Fieldwork planning
OSM limitations
OSM completeness is not uniform across Saudi Arabia. A missing road, building, or facility does not prove that the feature does not exist. Compare important features with an official source or imagery, record the download date, and avoid describing OSM as a complete national inventory.
5. SimpleMaps Saudi Arabia boundaries
SimpleMaps Saudi Arabia GIS files provide convenient country and first-level administrative boundary files. The page states that its simplified files use WGS 84 and are available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. The files are designed to load quickly and may simplify geometry to reduce size. 1
Best for
- Regional choropleth maps
- Introductory QGIS and ArcGIS exercises
- Web maps
- Country-level visualization
- Quick thematic mapping
Important limitations
SimpleMaps files are not a substitute for official administrative boundaries when boundary precision or legal status matters. Check the geometry detail, naming convention, region identifiers, and licence attribution. If your analysis involves area, distance, or detailed coastal geometry, use a more appropriate and documented dataset.
Because the files use WGS 84, QGIS may display them in another project CRS through on-the-fly transformation. If you need a permanent projected copy, export or reproject the layer after confirming the source CRS.
6. DIVA-GIS country data
DIVA-GIS country data provides older, generalized country-level datasets in downloadable packages. The catalogue can include administrative boundaries, roads, railways, elevation, land cover, and population-related layers, depending on the country and data category.
The site documents that vector data is supplied as ESRI Shapefiles and raster data may use DIVA grid formats. It also warns that grid resolution is expressed in angular units such as degrees or seconds, so the physical cell size varies by latitude. 2
Best for
- Teaching exercises
- Rapid country comparisons
- Basic administrative mapping
- A starting point when a newer national source is unavailable
Limitations
DIVA-GIS data may be old, generalized, or less detailed than modern national or satellite products. Check the source date, original provider, coordinate system, geometry detail, and resolution. Do not use a generalized boundary or old population layer for a current policy claim without explaining the limitation.
7. WorldPop population data for Saudi Arabia
WorldPop’s Saudi Arabia population resources provide gridded population estimates. A raster cell represents an estimated population value or density, depending on the specific product and metadata. The Saudi metadata describes modeled population surfaces and covariates rather than a simple official administrative count. 3
Best for
- Population distribution mapping
- Dasymetric mapping
- Accessibility studies
- Exposure and risk analysis
- Spatial allocation of population estimates
Use the metadata carefully
Check the product name, year, resolution, units, source population counts, modeling method, and whether the values are people per pixel, people per hectare, or another measure. Do not combine rasters from different years without checking comparability.
A 100-metre grid describes the raster cell size, not the accuracy of the population estimate. The model may redistribute counts using land cover, settlement patterns, and other covariates. Use the layer as an estimate and cite WorldPop’s methodology and licence.
8. Solar and renewable-energy data
Solargis free maps and GIS data may provide solar-resource information for Saudi Arabia, such as global horizontal irradiation, direct normal irradiation, or photovoltaic potential products, depending on the available download.
Best for
- Preliminary solar-site screening
- Renewable-energy teaching projects
- Regional solar-resource visualization
- Comparing broad areas for solar potential
Check before analysis
Solar-resource maps are model outputs, not measurements at every pixel. Check the product period, spatial resolution, variable definition, units, download licence, and whether the product is suitable for engineering design. A free regional map is not a substitute for a bankable site assessment.
9. Saudi Geological Survey and geoscience data
The Saudi Geological Survey is a source to investigate for geological, mineral, hydrogeological, topographic, and earth-science information. Availability can vary between downloadable GIS data, map products, reports, and viewer services.
Best for
- Geology and geomorphology
- Mineral and mining studies
- Hydrogeology
- Environmental assessment
- Terrain and earth-science research
Check whether a map is a GIS dataset or only a PDF or image. For a georeferenced map, record the map sheet, scale, datum, projection, publication date, and any restrictions. Geological mapping at one scale should not be interpreted as if it were a detailed engineering survey.
10. Global elevation and satellite-data sources
When a Saudi-specific elevation or imagery source is not available, global datasets can provide a consistent starting point.
Elevation
Possible sources include:
Select the product based on resolution, vertical datum, void filling, acquisition date, and licence. A digital elevation model should be checked for artefacts, coastline behavior, and resolution before deriving slope, aspect, drainage, or visibility.
Satellite imagery
Possible sources include:
For imagery, record the scene date, sensor, cloud cover, processing level, spatial resolution, bands, and atmospheric or geometric corrections. Use the product documentation rather than treating every downloaded image as directly comparable.
11. Administrative boundaries from open map services
You may also find Saudi Arabia boundaries through:
- ArcGIS Living Atlas and public ArcGIS services
- Natural Earth for generalized country boundaries
- geoBoundaries
- GADM
- Humanitarian Data Exchange
- OpenStreetMap administrative relations
These sources can be useful for different purposes, but they are not interchangeable. A generalized country boundary, a statistical boundary, an OSM relation, and an official administrative dataset may differ in coastline detail, disputed areas, naming, hierarchy, and update date.
Before joining statistics to boundaries, confirm the geographic level and identifier. A table for 13 regions should not be joined to a governorate layer without a documented crosswalk.
Quick source-selection guide
| Your task | Start with | Important check |
|---|---|---|
| Official Saudi statistics | Saudi Open Data Platform | Publisher, date, geography, field definitions |
| National boundaries or standards | Official Saudi geospatial organizations | Authority, access terms, scale, version |
| Riyadh urban analysis | Riyadh Municipality resources | Municipality coverage, service type, licence |
| Roads and buildings | OpenStreetMap extracts | Download date, completeness, ODbL attribution |
| Quick regional choropleth | SimpleMaps | Simplification, WGS 84, CC BY 4.0 attribution |
| Teaching-country layers | DIVA-GIS | Age, resolution, generalized geometry |
| Population surface | WorldPop | Product year, units, modeled estimates, resolution |
| Solar screening | Solargis free resources | Variable, period, licence, suitability for decisions |
| Geology | Saudi Geological Survey | Map scale, date, format, access restrictions |
| Elevation and imagery | USGS, NASA, Copernicus | Resolution, date, processing level, datum |
How to prepare Saudi GIS data in QGIS
1. Download and preserve the original
Create a project folder with separate directories for original_data, processed_data, styles, scripts, and outputs. Do not overwrite the original download.
2. Inspect the metadata
Record the source, URL, access date, licence, data date, geometry type, coordinate reference system, geographic level, and any known limitations.
3. Load the data
In QGIS, use Layer → Add Layer for vector or raster data. For CSV files with coordinates, use Add Delimited Text Layer and select the CRS of the coordinate values. Do not choose a target CRS in place of the source CRS.
4. Check the CRS and extent
Open the layer properties and confirm the CRS. Zoom to the layer and compare it with a trusted reference. If the source CRS is correct but different from the project CRS, QGIS can transform it for display.
5. Reproject only when needed
For distance, area, raster alignment, or a required deliverable, create a derived layer in a suitable CRS. Keep the source CRS documented and record the target CRS and processing method.
6. Validate attributes and geometry
Check Arabic and English names, region identifiers, duplicate records, null values, invalid geometry, multipart features, and unexpected extents. For population or environmental rasters, check NoData values, cell size, units, and the data range.
7. Cite the data in the map and report
Include the provider, dataset title, version or date, licence, access date, and processing steps. If the data is derived from OpenStreetMap, include the required ODbL attribution.
Common mistakes when using free Saudi GIS data
Treating all boundaries as official
A convenient boundary download may be simplified, old, or derived from an external source. Use an authoritative source when administrative accuracy matters.
Ignoring the data date
Roads, buildings, population, land use, and imagery change over time. A dataset’s download date is not necessarily its observation date.
Joining statistics to the wrong geography
Saudi Arabia has regions, governorates, municipalities, districts, and other geographic levels. Confirm the unit and identifier before joining a table.
Calling modeled data a census
WorldPop and similar products estimate population distribution. Describe them as modeled estimates and cite the product metadata.
Using a web map as a downloadable dataset
A map viewer may display layers without providing reusable data. Check whether a download, WFS, ArcGIS REST service, or API is explicitly available.
Reprojecting without checking the source CRS
A reprojection tool needs a correctly defined source CRS. If the source label is wrong, transforming it will produce a precisely wrong result.
Publishing data without checking licences
Record the licence and attribution requirements for every source. “Free” is not a substitute for permission to redistribute or publish.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I download free GIS data for Saudi Arabia?
Start with the Saudi Open Data Platform for government datasets. Use official national or municipal geospatial portals for authoritative sources, OpenStreetMap extracts for roads and other volunteered features, SimpleMaps for simplified regional boundaries, WorldPop for modeled population rasters, and global services such as Copernicus, USGS, and NASA for imagery and elevation.
What is the best Saudi Arabia shapefile?
There is no single best shapefile. The appropriate file depends on whether you need official boundaries, a simplified visualization layer, statistical regions, roads, buildings, geology, or another feature type. Check source authority, scale, date, CRS, and licence.
Is Saudi GIS data available in GeoJSON?
Some sources provide GeoJSON, while others provide Shapefile, GeoPackage, CSV, GeoTIFF, APIs, or web services. QGIS and ArcGIS can convert between many formats, but conversion does not improve the accuracy or authority of the source.
What CRS should I use for Saudi Arabia GIS data?
Use the CRS provided by the dataset and choose a project or analysis CRS appropriate for your task. Do not assume that every Saudi dataset uses the same CRS. For distance and area calculations, use a suitable projected CRS and document the choice.
Is OpenStreetMap data free to use?
OpenStreetMap data is available under the ODbL, but users must follow its attribution and database-licensing requirements. Read the current licence at OpenStreetMap’s copyright page before publishing or redistributing derived data.
Can I use WorldPop as official Saudi population data?
WorldPop provides modeled population estimates. It can support spatial analysis, but it should not be presented as a direct official census count unless the specific source and claim genuinely support that statement.
Is NextGIS free?
The NextGIS Saudi Arabia page describes a paid, regularly updated OSM-based product. It may be useful when you need packaged layers and project files, but it should not be listed as a free download without qualification.
Can I use these datasets for a university project?
Often, yes, but check the licence and course requirements. Record the source, date, version, processing, and attribution. Do not assume that a dataset can be redistributed in an assignment appendix or public website simply because it was downloadable.
Conclusion
For a reliable Saudi Arabia GIS project, combine sources rather than relying on one generic download. Use official Saudi portals when authority matters, OpenStreetMap for detailed volunteered features, SimpleMaps or similar products for quick generalized boundaries, WorldPop for modeled population surfaces, specialist sources for solar or geology, and global satellite or elevation products when appropriate.
The quality of your map depends on more than the file format. Check the dataset’s geographic level, date, CRS, scale, completeness, methodology, licence, and intended use. Document those decisions in your QGIS or ArcGIS project so that another reader can understand where the data came from and what the final analysis can reasonably claim.
References
[1] SimpleMaps: Free Saudi Arabia GIS maps
[2] DIVA-GIS: Free geographic data
[3] WorldPop: Saudi Arabia population metadata
[5] Saudi government GIS information
[6] General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information
[7] Riyadh Municipality open data
[8] OpenStreetMap copyright and licence
[9] NextGIS: Saudi Arabia basemap data
