Map of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1866 vs 2024

Maps created by reddit user f6jt_waleedThe two maps above show just how much Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has grown between 1866 and 2024.

In 1866 the “city” was just 5,000 to 6,000 people compared to London which had around 3 million people at that time.

Today Riyadh officially has 7 million residents compared to London’s 8.9 million.

A very short history of the city:

Riyadh’s origins trace back to the ancient city of Ḥajr, established by the Banu Hanifa tribe in the 5th century. Ḥajr served as a vital center for trading caravans traversing the Arabian Peninsula.

In the mid-17th century, Riyadh was a small fortified village among a chain of settlements along Wadi Ḥanīfah. The availability of water and fertile land in the wadi supported farming, particularly of dates.

Riyadh’s political prominence rose in 1824 when it became the capital of the Second Saudi State under Imam Turki bin Abdullah.

Although it fell under the control of the Rashīd family in 1881, Ibn Saud recaptured Riyadh in 1902, using it as the base for unifying the Arabian Peninsula.

With the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, Riyadh was designated the capital.

The city’s physical and demographic landscape has transformed dramatically over the past century.

In 1935, Riyadh’s population was still only approximately 40,000, growing to 83,000 by 1949.

The dismantling of the city walls in the late 1940s facilitated expansion, and by the 1960s, the population had reached about 150,000. Rapid urbanization continued, with the population exceeding 7 million by 2022.

This growth has been accompanied by extensive urban development, transforming Riyadh into a modern metropolis. The city has expanded beyond its original boundaries, incorporating surrounding villages and adopting a grid street pattern that defines its current layout.

Today, Riyadh stands as a central hub for political, economic, and cultural activities in Saudi Arabia.

The city’s demographic composition has also evolved. As of 2017, Saudis comprised approximately 64.19% of the population, with non-Saudis accounting for 35.81%. Indians represented the largest minority group at 13.7%, followed by Pakistanis at 12.4%.