Saudi land port passenger traffic surges 7.2% to over 70.7 million in 2025

RIYADH — The number of arriving and departing passengers through Saudi Arabia’s land ports increased by 7.2 percent to more than 70.7 million in 2025, while the number of registered and roadworthy vehicles reached over 16.7 million, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The authority’s Road Transport Statistics 2025 report showed that arriving passengers exceeded 37 million, accounting for 52.3 percent of total traffic, while departing passengers reached approximately 33.7 million, representing 47.7 percent. King Fahd Causeway accounted for the largest share of passenger traffic at 49.1 percent, followed by Al-Khafji Port at 12.2 percent. January recorded the highest monthly passenger traffic at more than 7.4 million, while March registered the lowest at approximately 4.6 million. Meanwhile, the number of registered and roadworthy vehicles exceeded 16.7 million — a 5.3 percent increase — by the end of 2025, with private vehicles accounting for 71.2 percent, followed by private transportation vehicles at 20 percent and public transportation vehicles at 4.4 percent. New vehicle registrations reached approximately 1.1 million during the year, an increase of 3.6 percent compared with 2024. In road freight, the total quantity of goods exported and imported through land ports exceeded 26.8 million tons, rising 4.4 percent annually. Exports reached 14.3 million tons, increasing by 6.3 percent, while imports totaled 12.5 million tons, up 2.4 percent compared with 2024. **media[2790069]** Al-Batha Port recorded the largest shares of both exports and imports at 27.9 percent and 31.9 percent, respectively. The report also showed that valid driving licenses exceeded 11.3 million by the end of 2025, with private licenses accounting for 87.2 percent of the total. Saudi nationals represented 51 percent of valid license holders, compared with 49 percent for non-Saudis, while males accounted for 87.6 percent and females for 12.4 percent. Newly issued driving licenses reached approximately 1.2 million during 2025, declining by 8.1 percent compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, serious traffic accidents reached 17,805 in 2025, with 62.5 percent occurring within cities. The traffic fatality rate increased by 2.9 percent to 11.99 deaths per 100,000 population, while the injury rate declined by 3.9 percent to 65.53 injuries per 100,000 population. Males accounted for 86.2 percent of traffic fatalities, while individuals aged 19 to 30 represented the largest age group at 33.5 percent of total fatalities.