On an annual basis … government spending growth on research and development is 38.3%

The Research, Development and Innovation Development Authority revealed a rise in 38.3 % in government spending on, in 2023.
It amounted to 8.6 billion riyals after it was 7.2 billion riyals in the year before.

Research and development in Saudi Arabia

This growth is attributed to the Saudi government’s commitment as an essential part of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, which aims to diversify the economy and move towards a sustainable knowledge economy.
This investment contributes to supporting innovation, promoting competitive capabilities, and developing solutions to national challenges in multiple areas such as energy, health, and technology.
The size of the total local spending on research and development in the Kingdom was 2023 m more than 22.6 billion riyals.
While business institutions on research and development reached 8.7 billion riyals, with a growth rate of 38.5 % year on year in 2023.

The numbers of researchers in Saudi Arabia

The authority indicated that the number of researchers in the field of research and development is constantly increasing, as it increased annually 22 %, as the number of researchers reached 36.8 thousand researchers in a year, including 1833 researchers in the government sector.
In the private sector, 2790 researchers were, while in the education sector, the largest percentage was after more than 32209 researchers joined during the year 2023.
These numbers reflect the Kingdom’s commitment to enhancing research and development as an essential pillar to achieve sustainable development, and stresses the importance of continuing to support this sector to ensure a prosperous future based on knowledge and innovation.