To which language should you translate to localize in Saudi Arabia?

GDP
1.28 trillion USD (2024)

Trade – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 36th out of 130 countries

The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) measures the sophistication and diversity of a country’s exports.

Product Imports
$220 billion (2024)

Service Imports
$128.68 billion (2024)

Market Growth Imports
4.7% of annual growth (2023)

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 78% have an account with a financial institution
• 30.1% have a credit card
• 71.7% make digital payment

Active E-commerce
22,664 active stores

GDP Growth (annual %)
4.5%

GDP per Capita
$34,536.7 ‎(2024) ‎

Product Exports
$309 billion (2024)

Service Exports
$69.41 billion (2024)

Market Growth Exports
8.9% of annual growth (2023)

Main online stores
Amazon Saudi Arabia, AliExpress, Noon KSA, Jarir Bookstore, Extra, Namshi, Nice One, Carrefour Saudi Arabia, H&M Saudi Arabia, IKEA Saudi Arabia, Salla, SHEIN

Global Startup Ecosystem Index
Saudi Arabia ranked 28th out of 100 countries, 97% of annual ecosystem growth

The Global Startup Ecosystem Index ranks countries and by the strength of their startup ecosystems. It evaluates factors such as startup activity, ecosystem quality, and the business environment for entrepreneurship.

Media language Arabic, English

The press

Al Riyadh, Okaz, Al Madina, Al Jazirah, Al Watan, Alyaum

News Agency

Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Press Agency English, Saudi Press Agency Arabic, Saudi Government Portal News, Vision 2030 News, Saudi Gazette News

Magazines

Al Majalla, Sayidaty, Arrajol, Hia Magazine, Al Yamamah, Destination KSA

Television

Saudi TV, Saudi 2, Al Ekhbariya, SBC Channel, Saudi Sports Channel, KSA Sports 1

Radio

Saudi Radio, Riyadh Radio, Jeddah Radio, Holy Quran Radio Saudi Arabia, Nida Al Islam Radio, Saudi International Radio

Internet users
99% penetration, 34.4 million

Share of web traffic by device
82.70% mobile phones, 16.40% computers (laptops and desktops), 0.88% tablet devices and 0.03% other devices

Median speed of mobile Internet connection
194.49 Mbps (Download)
16.21 Mbps (Upload)

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
126.35 Mbps (Download)
56.67 Mbps (Upload)

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 140%

Most popular web search engines
Google (96.17%), Bing (2.32%), Yandex (0.89%), Yahoo! (0.28%), DuckDuckGo (0.19%), Petal Search (0.11%), Baidu (0.01%), Others (0.03%)

Share of AI web traffic referrals
ChatGPT (89.08%), Microsoft Copilot (5.13%), Perplexity (2.90%), Google Gemini (2.27%), Claude (0.34%), DeepSeek (0.28%)

Most used social media
WhatsApp (82.9%), TikTok (81.8%), YouTube (80.9%), Instagram (74.7%), Snapchat (73.9%), X (66.7%), Telegram (65.2%), Facebook (54.3%), Messenger (35.8%), Pinterest (30.2%), LinkedIn (22.0%), iMessage (21.4%), Threads (12.7%), Discord (8.5%), Reddit (7.9%)

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 98.5%

Life expectancy
79 yrs (2024)

Current health expenditure
5.69% of GDP

CO2 emissions
17.73 metric tons per capita

Corruption perceptions Index
Saudi Arabia scored 57 out of 100, ranked 45th out 182 countries worldwide.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries by perceived levels of public sector corruption. It is based on expert assessments and business surveys, with higher scores indicating lower perceived corruption.

Religion
Muslim (official) (85%), Other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (15%)

Ethnicity
Arab (90%), Afro-Asian (10%)

World Happiness Index
Saudi Arabia ranked 22nd out of 147 countries, with a score of 6.817

The World Happiness Index ranks countries by people’s self-reported life satisfaction. It also considers factors like income, health, social support, freedom, and trust.

R&D Expenditure
0.64% of GDP

World Competitiveness Ranking
Saudi Arabia ranked 13th out of 70 countries, with a score of 84.0

The World Competitiveness Ranking measures how well countries create an environment that supports business performance and long-term prosperity.
It evaluates factors such as economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.

World Digital Competitiveness Ranking
Saudi Arabia ranked 22nd out of 69 countries, with a score of 80.09

The World Digital Competitiveness Ranking measures how well countries adopt and develop digital technologies to drive economic transformation.
It assesses factors such as knowledge, technology, and future readiness.

Technology – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 23rd out of 97 countries

Research – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 86th out of 138 countries

The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) measures the sophistication and diversity of a country’s exports.

Global Innovation Index
Ranked 5th out of 18 North African & Western Asian countries, and 46th out of 139 countries worldwide.

The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 139 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.