The International Monetary Fund praised Saudi Arabia’s global leadership in adopting artificial intelligence across several sectors. The expansion of AI applications could contribute to increasing the country’s GDP growth rate by as much as 6% in the coming period.
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The International Monetary Fund praised Saudi Arabia’s global leadership in adopting artificial intelligence across several sectors at the conclusion of its 2026 Article IV consultations with the kingdom.
The fund said this progress could contribute to increasing Saudi Arabia’s GDP growth rate by as much as 6% during the coming period.
According to the report, AI adoption in Saudi Arabia has expanded across government services, healthcare, education and financial technology.
This development has placed the kingdom among the world’s best-performing countries in several international rankings, including the United Nations E-Government Development Index and the Oxford Government AI Readiness Index.
The report said Saudi Arabia’s efforts to strengthen its position as a global leader in AI adoption and development represent a central pillar of Saudi Vision 2030.
It added that this ambition builds on the country’s significant digital transformation in recent years, including improvements to digital infrastructure, the development of regulations and the growth of the communications and information technology workforce.
The fund also highlighted the efforts of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, known as SDAIA, including the national strategy launched in 2020 and the National AI Index.
These initiatives contribute to attracting investment, developing expertise, establishing an enabling regulatory environment and expanding the use of AI applications across economic sectors.
The report indicated that most of Saudi Arabia’s national AI targets—particularly those related to the workforce and domestic and foreign direct investment—had exceeded the interim targets set for 2025.
These results reflect SDAIA’s role as Saudi Arabia’s national authority for data and artificial intelligence.
Its work includes enabling a data-driven economy, improving the efficiency of government services and developing a governance and regulatory framework that supports the responsible use of advanced technologies, contributing to the objectives of Vision 2030.
