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Population
Population
2022:36 million people
Marriages
Allowed to have more than one spouse
Migration
2021
Net outflow over 4 years
From which countries migrants come
2020: In the top three in the number of immigrants
2019: 1.2K millionaires leave Saudi Arabia
Mortality
Number of opioid deaths
The number of deaths in road accidents
Cities
- Neom (NEOM) is a project of the city of the future.
- The Line (Saudi Arabia City of the Future)
Government
Economy
Main article: Saudi economy
Information Technology
Main Article: Data Centers (Saudi Market)
2024: World's first esports Olympics to be held in Saudi Arabia
In mid-July 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the first Olympic Games on eSports 2025 will be held in Saudi Arabia. The IOC has entered into an agreement with the Saudi National Olympic Committee (NOC) for 12 years, during which the esports Olympics will be held regularly. Read more here
2023
How Saudi Arabia is pursuing a $7 trillion digital transformation
Saudi Arabia is implementing a large-scale digital transformation program, the cost of which is estimated at $7 trillion. At the same time, in 2023, the cost of information and communication technologies in the Kingdom will exceed $34.5 billion. Such figures are given in the IDC report, which was released on August 25, 2023.
Digitalization in Saudi Arabia provides for amendments to legislation and the adoption of the necessary regulatory framework. Regulation extends to areas such as digital identification and digital signatures, data protection and cybersecurity, freedom of information, sharing of open data, etc. The program is designed to stimulate the economic and social development of the Kingdom.
The initiative involves the widespread use of the latest IT technologies, including artificial intelligence tools. By 2030, Saudi Arabia expects to become one of the world leaders in AI and big data. This will require the training of approximately 20 thousand specialists in the relevant field.
IDC analysts believe that in the period from 2022 to 2026, the software segment in the Kingdom will demonstrate a CAGR of 11.4%. At the same time, in the field of IT services, an annual increase in costs is expected by an average of 8.7%. In 2023, the public sector will provide the largest contribution to IT spending. In addition, significant investments will be made in the fields of applications and services based on AI, the Internet of Things, cybersecurity and big data analysis. These areas, as noted, represent a failure of the "most important building blocks" of the Saudi economy. The sectors of finance, communications, power and production will make a significant contribution to the total market volume. At the same time, the highest growth rates until 2026 are expected in the fields of health care, retail/wholesale trade, professional services and education.
Saudi Arabia's innovative digital transformation path is a testament to the Kingdom's leaders "vision and commitment to building a sustainable digital economy, says Hamza Naqshbandi, IDC's deputy vice president in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. |
It is noted that digital transformation has become an integral part of the life of citizens of the Kingdom, especially since Saudi Arabia ranks first in the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) index for e-government services. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah provides more than 121 electronic services for more than 30 million people in Saudi Arabia, as well as for millions of people performing Hajj and Umrah from different countries. The agency is considering the possibility of providing electronic payment services in order to connect electronic systems in the countries of residence of pilgrims with systems in Saudi Arabia.
One of the most difficult tasks in the provision of electronic services and the implementation of digital transformation in the Kingdom is to ensure a secure cyber environment, including to protect personal data. This is achieved thanks to the efforts of the National Cybersecurity Administration, which conducted an expanded exercise on May 28, 2023. They included modeling actions in the event of various types of cyber attacks, as well as the use of a mechanism for responding to urgent cyber incidents, from readiness, detection and analysis, to localization, aftermath and procedures after a hacker invasion.[1]
Saudi Arabia launched a state-owned company to invest $1.9 billion in digital technologies
Saudi Arabia has formed a state-owned digital company based on the state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco. The new structure was called Aramco Digital, which became known on January 30, 2023. Read more here.
Social Security
Maternity leave
inHealth care
2020: Duration of guaranteed paid sick leave from 3 to 5.9 months
Armed Forces
2022: 4th place in the list of the largest importers of weapons
US military bases
2023: US Air Base and its allies "El Harj"
2019: Number of U.S. military personnel based
Education
2019: Number of years of education by citizens over 25
Transport
- Airline Flyadeal
2024: Saudi Arabia buys 100 electric aircraft for air taxi
At the end of July 2024, the leading manufacturer of electric aircraft Lilium N.V. signed an agreement with Saudia Group to sell 50 Lilium Jets to Saudi Arabia with the possibility of acquiring another 50 aircraft in the future for the deployment of an air taxi fleet. Read more here
Visas
2019: Registration of a "premium residence permit" via the Internet
At the end of June 2019, Saudi Arabia introduced a new scheme for the stay of foreigners. We are talking about the so-called "premium residence permit," which can be obtained via the Internet.
In accordance with the new law, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers under the chairmanship of Salman ibn Abdel Aziz Al-Saud, the introduced residence permit allows you to come to Saudi Arabia without restrictions, work not in state-owned companies, buy houses and cars. The main requirements for obtaining such a visa are as follows:
- an unfinished foreign passport;
- age from 21;
- documents confirming the availability of funds;
- in case of staying in the kingdom - a registered residence permit and a medical report on the state of health.
According to the new scheme, for permanent stay in the country, working foreigners will have to pay 800 thousand Saudi riyals ($213,322 at the exchange rate as of June 25, 2019), accommodation for a period of a year will cost 100 thousand Saudi riyals ($26,665) with the possibility of resumption.
You can apply for a "premium residence permit" electronically through the SAPRC platform. In addition to loading documents, you can pay all fees for processing documents in this system.
The center in which the documents are processed is a financially and administratively independent entity associated with the Council on Economic and Development Issues. The procedure for the work of the special center was approved by the government of the country.
By the end of June 2019, more than 10 million expats work and live in Saudi Arabia under a system that requires their stay to be paid for by a local employer. They need to get a visa to leave and re-enter when they want to leave the country.[2]
Crime
Drugs
- Captagon - in 2022, Saudi Arabia was the world's largest consumer of the drug.
Prisons
2021: World No. 4 in death penalty: 65 in a year
2019: The minimum age for children to be jailed is 11
2018: Number of prisoners per 100 thousand citizens
Participation in international organizations
Saudi Arabia is a member of the following organizations:
History
2022: Twitter employee passes Saudi Arabia data from authorities' critics for bribes
And in August 2022, it became known that a Twitter employee transmitted data from critics of the authorities to Saudi Arabia. In return, he "received hundreds of thousands of dollars and luxury wristwatches," the prosecution said.