Saudi Arabia leads world in desalinated water production

Saudi Arabia ranked first globally in desalinated water production, with daily capacity exceeding 16 million cubic meters by the end of 2025, according to the National Transformation Program's 2025 annual report. The report showed daily desalinated water production capacity grew from 4.6 million cubic meters in 2016 to 16 million cubic meters in 2025, a gain of nearly 248%.

The kingdom achieved that position despite being one of the world's most water-scarce countries. The report credited investment and technology for the increase.

The National Transformation Program is part of Saudi Vision 2030. The annual report did not provide a breakdown by facility or region. It noted the capacity figure represented the total across the kingdom's desalination plants.