Progress & Achievements

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed a remarkable increase in the "Percentage of Saudis who practice sports over the age of 15", reaching 22.34% in 2019 as an increase from 13% since the launch of the Vision 2030.

The opening of the first cinema in partnership between the Saudi entertainment company SEVEN, owned by the PIF, and AMC, followed by the opening of another 32 cinemas in various regions of the Kingdom, reaching a number of 33 cinemas in 12 cities within 6 administrative regions in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has developed the digital infrastructure for the health sector reaching 67 million appointments for more than 14.3 million beneficiaries through the application of "Mawid" in addition to 8.4 million electronic prescriptions through the "Wasfati" application.

Saudi Arabia has launched the Saudi Green Initiative that aims to focus on enhancing the Kingdom's efforts in facing the current environmental challenges which includes planting 10 billion trees within the Kingdom over the coming decades, in addition to the launch of the "Green Middle East Initiative", which aims to plant 50 billion trees, and is considered to be the largest reforestation program in the world.

The Kingdom has ranked 1st in the world in a number of security indicators, outperforming the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the G20 countries.

More than 400 cultural professions were included in the unified Saudi classification of occupations in 2020, in order to increase the chances of professionalism of workers in the cultural sector.

Adding "Al-Ahsa Oasis" to the Saudi archaeological sites registered with UNESCO, bringing the number of Saudi heritage sites registered with UNESCO to 5 sites.

Obtaining real estate financing has become an immediate process, which is considered as a significant and positive change due to the fact that grant duration was estimated to be given within 15 years since submitting an application, the launch of the housing program and developing financial solutions & procedures had a great impact on making this reform happen. Today, citizens can benefit from housing products and obtain a mortgage of up to SAR 500,000 in addition to 100% support. The number of subsidized real estate loans within the housing program has reached 424,000 subsidized loans since the program was established in 2017 until 2020.

The number of entertainment venues has increased from 154 in 2017 to 277 in 2020.

The number of visitable National Heritage sites has increased from 241 in 2017 to 354 in 2019.

The percentage of citizen satisfaction with the housing programs and solutions provided has increased, reaching 80% by the end of 2020 compared to 32% before the launch of the housing program.

The Kingdom bears tax for the first home for a citizen up to SAR 1,000,000 from purchase price, which contributes to reducing the financial burden of owning a first home, more than 407,000 certificates bearing the first home tax have been issued.

Rehabilitation of more than 37 million square meters of gardens, green spaces, and pruning, in addition to coordinating and planting more than 14 million trees and roses, which in turn increased the per capita share of public spaces and squares to approximately 4.09 square meters per person.

Saudi Arabia has reduced the processing time of obtaining visas from 14 days to 5 minutes by applying the latest advanced technologies that links the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in the Kingdom with official and temporary missions, which contributed to the rapid and high-accuracy of execution.

The project was implemented in Taif Governorate in the depth of the most rugged Sarwat Mountains, with a length of 12.5 km at a record speed of 60.3 m per day, the project was completed ahead of schedule despite the difficult terrain and the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) circulated the Kingdom's experience in the field of malaria control to the rest of the countries to benefit from.The organization, in cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Health, wrote a book entitled "The Malaria Elimination Program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Success Story", which documents the successful experience of the malaria program in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia, where during the year 2019, no local cases were recorded, in addition to 100% coverage of malaria treatment with complete prevention for all the population at risk of infection.

Saudi Arabia has organized +2000 events, including 1750 entertainment, 50 sports and 56 cultural events, attended by more than 46 million visitors.

The percentage of citizens 'ownership of housing increased in a duration of 4 years from 47% to 60% in 2020 surpassing the 2020 target by 8% as a result of the adoption of many initiatives that would facilitate citizens' ownership of housing.

Saudi Arabia ranked 1st in the Arab world and the 21st worldwide in the happiness index recorded in 2020, as the index witnessed a noticeable improvement in its ranking and it has increased by 16 ranks since the beginning of Vision 2030.

The average life expectancy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increased to 75.1 years during the first 4 months of Vision 2030 launch date. This is mainly present due to the improvements in health care and the adaptation a healthier lifestyle.

Saudi Arabia has launched the Haramain high-speed train, which connects Jeddah Airport with Makkah and Madinah, and is considered to be the latest and one of the most significant means of transportation between Makkah & Madinah.

The Kingdom has managed to advance five times in the "Global Competitiveness Index" since 2017, bringing the kingdom's ranking in the index to 36th globally, and ranking first in the world in terms of reforms for working women according to the Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World of Economic Forum.

Saudi Arabia has witnessed an increase in the share of local content in the oil and gas sector from 40% as a baseline since the launch of Vision 2030 to 55% in 2018.

The Kingdom has supported the financing of small and medium enterprises by launching the "indirect lending initiative", bringing the number of beneficiaries to 611 establishments with an amount of SAR 642 million.

The Kingdom is ranked first in the world in reforms of the business environment, according to the world bank report for ease of doing business.

The year 2019 has witnessed the success of the largest initial public offering in history recorded for Saudi Aramco, with a value of more than SAR 110 billion and 1.5% of the company's shares. The institutions subscribed about SAR 397 billion, constituting a total coverage ratio of 465%, in addition to that, the market value of Saudi Aramco has increased after offering its shares reaching a barrier of USD 2 trillion, which is considered more than double the market value of any other listed company in the world.

Increase the contribution of small and medium enterprises to the GDP from 20% in 2016 to 29% in 2020.

Saudi Arabia has reached 7th place worldwide in the government spending efficiency index issued by The World Economic Forum in 2018.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has raised in the technical and vocational training index to reach the 12th place worldwide in 2020 compared to 86th place in 2019, according to the results of the global knowledge index issued by the United Nations Development Program.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has managed to rank first in the Arab World, and 14th globally in publishing corona research.

Saudi Arabia has launched a flexible work platform that will contribute in reduction of unemployment rates, providing adequate job opportunities, and increasing the participation of women in the private sector.

The public investment fund has witnessed an increase in the percentage of assets in global markets compared to net assets to reach 30% in 2020 compared to 5% in 2017.

The Public Investment Fund has managed to win the best investment fund award for 2020 presented by the Global SWF, which emphasizes the fund's global impact.

Inauguration of the first fast interceptor boat manufactured locally by the Zamil Marine Services Company in cooperation with the French company CMN for the Royal Navy.

The wind energy project in Domat Al-Jandal was awarded the deal of the year award for the renewable energy sector in the Middle East and Africa for the year 2019, and is considered to be the first project to be awarded in the Kingdom to produce electricity from wind energy.

The "Sakaka Solar Power Station" is the first project in a series of renewable energy projects in the Kingdom with a production capacity of 300 megawatts and a standard tariff of 8.78 halalas per kilowatt per hour equivalent.

In February 2019, the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology launched the Saudi communications satellite "SGS - 1" in order to secure high-speed satellite communications that meet the Kingdom's needs.

Index futures trading began as the first financial derivative product to be traded in the Saudi Stock Exchange. The launch of the market represents an important step in the endeavors to develop the Saudi financial market, and to provide investors with a full and varied range of investment products and services. Saudi Futures 30 contracts (of which the MT30 index is based) have been developed to provide investors with hedging tools to manage risks more effectively. And providing various investment opportunities.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered the first Arab country to obtain this membership at the group's general meeting in June 2019, and this comes as a culmination and strengthening of the Kingdom's international standing and a highlight of its efforts in the field of combating money laundering and financing of terrorism and proliferation, which strengthens the financial institutions' dealings in the Kingdom with international financial institutions.

The level of deficit as a percentage of GDP decreased from 15.8% in 2015 to 4.5% in 2019, which led to strengthening the Kingdom's financial position and its ability to deal with external shocks.

The Saudi market joined the global indices (MSCI), (Standard & Poor's Dow Jones) and (FTSE Russell) for emerging markets, after completing the necessary stages for joining. Which contributed to many developments related to the objectives of the financial sector development program, the most important of which; the number of qualified foreign investors registered in QFIs increased by 415% by the end of 2020 to 2334 investors, from 453 investors in 2018, and the net foreign investments in the financial market during the same period reached about SAR 123 billion. Saudi stocks also accounted for 3.1% of the emerging FTSE Index and 0.35% of the weight of the FTSE All-World Index.

These initiatives have contributed to mitigating the effects of the pandemic on industrial and mining facilities by extending the duration of licenses and delaying payment of financial dues.

According to data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development "UNCTAD", foreign direct investment in the Kingdom witnessed a significant increase from SAR 5.3 billion in 2017 to SAR 17.6 billion in 2020.

In line with the Kingdom's goal of being a logistics hub connecting the three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), Saudi Arabia has achieved first place globally in the Road Networks Correlation Index for the year 2019, according to the Global Competitiveness Forum report.

The Kingdom, with its giant maritime fleet, ranked first in the Arab world and 20th globally for the year 2020, for the second time in terms of the carrying capacity to transport goods, according to the report of UNCTAD.

Saudi Railways is ranked among the top three railway companies in the global safety index issued by the International Union of Railways (UIC) exceeding more than 30 global railway companies.

The King Abdullah Port Project was launched in King Abdullah Economic City as the first Saudi port to be developed and operated with full ownership by the private sector, while the private sector was also involved in managing and operating multiple port operations (support contracts in the ports of Jeddah and Dammam) with a total investment of SAR 16 billion .

The opening of the Arar port between Saudi Arabia and Iraq to raise the capacity of goods and passengers to meet future and current demands, and to improve the local, regional and international connectivity of trade and transport networks.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ranked 23rd worldwide in maritime transportation, after raising the tonnage of the Saudi fleet to 7.5 million tons.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has opened its doors to tourists from all over the world in September 2019,and the tourist visa was launched in front of citizens from 49 countries electronically, and it issued more than 440 thousand tourist visas until March 2020, as of now, it takes only 5 to 30 minutes to obtain an electronic tourist visa in most cases. The issued visas contributed to the creation of direct revenues amounting to approximately SAR 120 million .

Saudi Arabia has ranked first worldwide in internet speed of fifth-generation technology. The average internet speed has increased +11 times, recording from 9 MBPS in 2017, to 109 MBPS in 2020, achieving an increase from 135th in 2017 to 5th in 2020.

The indicator "the percentage of female participation in the workforce" has exceeded the target of 2030 (30%), as the participation rate increased from 21% in 2017 to reach 33.2% of the workforce in 2020.

The PIF has succeeded in achieving remarkable growth in the value of assets under management since the launch of the program in 2017, from SAR 0.84 trillion to nearly double by the end of 2020 with a value of approximately SAR 1.5 trillion.

Non-oil government revenue has increased by nearly 122% in the past five years, from SAR 166 billion in 2015 to SAR 369 billion in 2020. This remarkable progress is due to the increase in services activity, industrial concentration, and lower oil prices.

The kingdom has achieved first place in digital competitiveness at a G20 level during the past three years, in addition, Saudi Arabia has achieved a ranking of 9 in the digital capabilities index, according to "The Competitiveness Report" from the World Economic Forum.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed an increase in the maturity rate of digital government services to 81.3% in 2020, from 60% in 2017.

Saudi Arabia has launched the Immediate Payment System (IPS 2021), which contributes to improving the efficiency of the financial system, managing fraud risks, combating money laundering, improving existing banking products, and managing cash flows for the business sector.

Saudi Arabia has launched the "Localization of Professions" initiative that aims to increase employment rates in specific occupations in various sectors, which has contributed to raising the rate of localization from 18% at the beginning of 2017 to 24% by the end of 2020. In the same regard, more than 100,000 male and female citizens have been employed in these professions since the beginning of 2019.

The number of sports federations has doubled from 32 in 2016 to 64 in 2020, and it is expected that the number will reach 92 in 2021, in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, that aims to focus on creating champions in various sports.

The total amount deposited in the citizen's account for beneficiaries since its launch in 2017 has reached more than SAR 86.10 billion until 2020.

The economic value of volunteering per person in Saudi Arabia has witnessed an increase from SAR 0.6 per hour in 2017 to SAR 21.27 per hour in 2020.

Increase in productive families benefiting from financing solutions from 3000 families in 2017 to more than 62,865 families in 2020.

The "Baladi" portal was launched to provide services by the secretariats and municipalities, as the number of users of the platform has reached more than one million users among the most prominent services provided:

• The issuance of more than one million construction and commercial licenses.
• Reaching 82% instant licenses for municipal licenses.
• Activating the 940 service to receive and address reports and complaints.
• Launched more than 100 municipal services in 285 municipal bodies.
• Launching the interactive platform with beneficiaries and reaching 252,089 participants in questionnaires on the level of municipal services.

The digital platform “Etimad” has facilitated the procedures for financial transactions with the private sector by fully automating payment orders, which contributes to improving and expediting the procedures for disbursing receivables and facilitating the operations associated with them. The number of payment orders on the platform has reached 1.9 million payment orders, with a value of more than SAR one trillion .

The Absher platform brings together a large number of e-government services for its beneficiaries, and it includes about 335 services provided through its three platforms: Absher Individuals, Absher Business, Absher Government, and has worked on a number of achievements to raise the level of government performance of services provided to the public, in addition to reaching the highest levels of information security.

Four articles of the labor system have been amended to increase the number of Saudis entering the labor market, and two articles have been deleted with the aim of empowering women economically, supporting them in doing business without discrimination, applying the regulation of the work environment to protect all groups, and expanding options for the private sector to employ women.

Saudi Arabia has launched "Najiz" platform which has excluded the beneficiaries from visiting the judicial headquarters, as it provides more than 120 judicial services in the sectors of judiciary, enforcement, documentation, conciliation, training and advocacy; This contributes to increasing the level of satisfaction of the beneficiaries with the services of the Ministry of Justice, and raising the operational efficiency. The number of users of the platform has reached 70,000 daily users. The 1950 Unified Call Center for Justice Services and Assets received about 1.5 million incoming calls in 2020.

Saudi Arabia has increased its speed in court activities, where as The Judicial Operations Center (for following up on the work of the courts) contributed to an increase in the completion rate of enforcement courts to 82%, and the completion rate for court of civil affairs to 59%.

About 32 centers have been prepared to implement the provisions of Vision 2030 in children nursery across multiple regions throughout the Kingdom as part of the "Shamal" initiative, which aims to provide social support to parents and children, and protect the rights of fostered children. The total number of beneficiaries of the services has reached 34 thousand.

Saudi Arabia has unified efforts related to security operations center by merging all operating rooms in the regions into one central room that includes all security and service sectors through a unified emergency number "911". The average number of calls per day in Riyadh region reached 25 thousand calls, in addition to reaching 21 thousand calls in the region of Makkah al Mukarramah.

Through ensuring proper governance of plans, the approval procedures has been estimated to be within 60 days instead of 2 years (the previous approval timings).

Which aims to create an environment that increases the level of services provided to citizens and residents and to provide the necessary flexibility in the regulatory and investment environment for privatization projects in the Kingdom.

The "Maritime Transport Gateway" platform was launched to enable workers in the field of maritime transport in all its forms, individuals and establishments, to submit the various licenses requests necessary to conduct their business, complete all procedures and process them electronically remotely, without the need to print any paper transactions.

With the aim of activating the role of non-profit sector organizations and expanding it in developmental areas, the center was established to work on integrating government efforts in providing licensing services, tightening financial, administrative and technical control over the sector, and increasing coordination and support.

In an effort to govern donations and ensure that they reach their recipients easily and effectively the national platform for donations "Donate" was established, and among its objectives is to raise the Kingdom's classification in the "Global Giving" index to achieve the efficiency of the non-profit sector, as the platform includes approved NGO initiatives, and the number of donors has reached More than 160,000 donors have benefited from more than 272,000 beneficiaries.

The number of volunteers has grown by 18 times since the launch of Vision 2030, bringing the total number of volunteers to 409,000 volunteers in 2020.

Saudi has obtained two Guinness World Records certificates; the first for the largest desalinated water production facility in the world, with a production volume of 5.6M m3 per day, and the other for the largest desalinated water production plant in the world.

The launch of the "Electronic Litigation" platform has witnessed a significant number of cases through the service that has reached 207 thousand, in addition to the number of sessions held remotely to reach 588 thousand judicial sessions.

The Kingdom has advanced in the government effectiveness index of the World Bank by 8 ranks worldwide during the past five years to record from 83 to 75.

The Kingdom won the "Equals in Technology" award for the technology leadership track awarded by the United Nations Agency for the Communications and Information Technology Sector (International Telecommunication Union).