Global CityIntelligence

Saudi Arabia / Western Asia

Riyadh City Intelligence

Riyadh anchors Saudi Arabia's political and economic life with large-scale urban modernization programs, expanding metro infrastructure, and exceptional solar resource. Riyadh is a western asia city of about 8.0M metro in Saudi Arabia. On the composite city-intelligence score, Riyadh sits around the indexed median (70/100).

Last updated
2026-05-16
Data year
2025
Population
8.0M metro
View of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Image credit: Image: B.alotaby / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall score

Read Riyadh as a fast-evolving capital where modernization investment and digital readiness balance significant heat and water-resilience pressures.

Overall70/100
Affordability70/100
Air quality60/100
Energy76/100

Overall city intelligence

Good

70/100

Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.

Solar resource

Exceptional

Among the strongest solar irradiance levels globally.

Urban modernization

Active

Major infrastructure programs are underway across the metro.

Riyadh data table

The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.

Riyadh city intelligence data table
MetricValueContext
Overall score70/100Composite score across major city intelligence modules.
Cost of Living70/100Riyadh is moderately priced for the region, with rent rising in central districts and services costs steady.
Air Quality60/100Riyadh carries elevated air-quality pressure with seasonal dust and traffic-related pollutants the main concerns.
Energy76/100Riyadh benefits from exceptional solar resource and active national renewable build-out under the national transition plan.
Safety86/100Riyadh scores well on safety, with stable institutional response and steady public-safety perception.
Internet Speed84/100Riyadh offers fast fiber and mobile networks supporting digital services and remote work.
Climate Risk58/100Riyadh carries elevated climate risk centered on extreme heat and water scarcity.
Resilience62/100Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context.

Safety

Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.

Safety

Overall safety69/100
Low crime70/100
Personal safety71/100
Night safety62/100
Road safety70/100

Riyadh is estimated to be a generally safe city (69/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators, though night-time scores run lower.

Quality of Life

A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.

Quality of Life

Quality of life67/100
Healthcare73/100
Education75/100
Green space41/100
Cleanliness71/100
Infrastructure87/100
Mobility66/100

Riyadh has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (67/100), with notable strengths in infrastructure.

Family Friendliness

How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.

Family Friendliness

Family friendliness67/100
Education75/100
Green space41/100
Overall safety69/100

Riyadh scores moderate for family living (67/100), helped by education access.

Digital Nomad Suitability

Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.

Digital Nomad Suitability

Digital nomad suitability71/100
Walkability65/100
Cycling42/100
Infrastructure87/100

Riyadh is high for remote workers (71/100), based on connectivity, affordability and day-to-day amenities.

Retirement Suitability

Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.

Retirement Suitability

Retirement suitability66/100
Healthcare73/100
Cleanliness71/100
Outdoor lifestyle18/100

Riyadh is moderate for retirement (66/100), appealing for affordability.

Emergency and public safety in Riyadh

Local public safety guidance for Riyadh, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.

Unverified

For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Riyadh, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the Saudi Arabia emergency profile, which currently lists no verified national contacts.

Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.

Healthcare and hospitals in Riyadh

Healthcare context for Riyadh, with national-level information from Saudi Arabia where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.

Unverified

For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Riyadh, see the Saudi Arabia healthcare profile, which currently lists no verified national healthcare information.

Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.

Transport and mobility in Riyadh

Local mobility context for Riyadh, with national-level context from Saudi Arabia where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.

Unverified

For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Riyadh, see the Saudi Arabia transport profile, which currently lists no verified national transport information.

Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.

Air quality dataset

Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Riyadh. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.

Air quality dataset for Riyadh

Verified data unavailableLast updated 2026-05-16 / data year 2025

Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location

Source-attributed values for Riyadh will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.

Riyadh air-quality dataset coverage
MetricValueData yearStatus
Air qualityVerified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location.

Data provenance

Source attribution

  • Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset

    Verified data unavailable
    Publisher
    Global City Intelligence
    Last verified
    2026-05-16

    The air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).

Related comparisons

Pairs that share a city, comparison intent, or region — useful for users planning a wider relocation, remote-work, or business decision.

Explore Riyadh modules

City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.

Cost of Living in Riyadh

Riyadh is moderately priced for the region, with rent rising in central districts and services costs steady.

Air Quality in Riyadh

Riyadh carries elevated air-quality pressure with seasonal dust and traffic-related pollutants the main concerns.

Energy in Riyadh

Riyadh benefits from exceptional solar resource and active national renewable build-out under the national transition plan.

Safety in Riyadh

Riyadh scores well on safety, with stable institutional response and steady public-safety perception.

City rankings

Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.

Cost of living in Riyadh

Cost of living estimates for Riyadh — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.

Climate in Riyadh

Climate profile for Riyadh — Desert climate, annual average 25.9°C, comfort score 51/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.

Economy and jobs in Riyadh

Economy and jobs profile for Riyadh — government center, economy score 72/100, key industries including government, energy, finance. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.

Universities and education in Riyadh

Education profile for Riyadh — regional education center, education score 69/100, 6 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.

Healthcare and retirement in Riyadh

Healthcare and retirement profile for Riyadh — regional healthcare center, healthcare score 68/100, retirement score 61/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.

Estimate a monthly budget for Riyadh

Estimate a monthly budget for Riyadh using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.

Plan a trip budget for Riyadh

Plan a trip budget for Riyadh using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.

Nearby cities from Riyadh

Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Riyadh. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.

Manama, Bahrain

Cross-border · about 426 km from Riyadh. Explore Manama's city intelligence profile.

Doha, Qatar

Cross-border · about 491 km from Riyadh. Explore Doha's city intelligence profile.

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Cross-border · about 540 km from Riyadh. Explore Kuwait City's city intelligence profile.

Medina, Saudi Arabia

Weekend trip · about 718 km from Riyadh. Explore Medina's city intelligence profile.

Interpretation

Read Riyadh as a fast-evolving capital where modernization investment and digital readiness balance significant heat and water-resilience pressures. Its standout dimensions are safety (86/100) and internet speed (84/100). The area most worth watching is climate risk (58/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 4 institutional references.

Country context is available on the Saudi Arabia country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Riyadh appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.

Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.

Sources

4 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.