1 November 2026
The General Authority for Statistics has released the results of its ICT Access and Usage Statistics by Households and Individuals 2026. The survey found that 99.6% of people aged 15 to 74 in the Kingdom use the internet. Use was 99.8% among Saudi males and 99.5% among Saudi females, and the highest of any age group was 99.9% among those aged 15 to 24. The mobile phone was by far the most used device at 98.4%, well ahead of laptops at 13.9% and tablets at 12.3%. Social networking was the leading online activity at 99.7% of internet users. The survey also found that 98.4% of individuals reach government services online, and that 74.5% of internet users buy goods or services online.
Internet use, ages 15-74:
99.6%
Reach government services online:
98.4%
Internet users who buy online:
74.5%
Why it matters for exams: Gives the publishing body, the General Authority for Statistics, the name of the ICT Access and Usage survey, and the headline figure of 99.6% internet use among people aged 15 to 74.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
GASTAT General Authority for Statistics — Saudi Arabia's official statistics body, which runs the Kingdom's censuses and surveys.
1 November 2026
The General Authority for Statistics has published the results of its Structural Business Statistics for the Kingdom's business sector. Operating revenues of the sector grew by 2.3% over the previous year. Compensation of employees rose by 6.0%, with salaries and wages making up 84.8% of that total and benefits and allowances the remaining 15.2%. Gross fixed capital formation, which measures spending on lasting assets, rose by 0.4%. The gross operating surplus of the sector fell slightly, by 0.1%. The release groups economic activities using ISIC4, the fourth revision of the International Standard Industrial Classification, so the figures can be compared with other countries.
Growth in operating revenues:
2.3%
Growth in compensation of employees:
6.0%
Share of salaries and wages in compensation:
84.8%
Why it matters for exams: Carries the name of the Structural Business Statistics release, the publishing body GASTAT, the 2.3% growth in operating revenues and the ISIC classification used for such data.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
ISIC International Standard Industrial Classification — The United Nations system for sorting economic activities into comparable classes.
22 October 2026
The General Authority for Statistics has released its Physical Activity Statistics Publication for the Kingdom. It finds that 59.9% of adults aged 18 and above take part in physical activity for 150 minutes or more each week. Among men the share is 63.4% and among women 52.9%. The 18 to 29 age group is the most active at 63.0%, while those aged 80 and above are the least active at 13.4%. Adults spend an average of 340 minutes a day sitting or reclining, not counting sleep, and the average is higher for women than for men. For children and adolescents aged 5 to 17, only 20.3% are active for 60 minutes or more a day. The estimates are drawn from the National Health Survey and the Woman and Child Health Survey and rest on what people report about themselves.
Adults meeting the weekly target:
59.9%
Males meeting the target:
63.4%
Females meeting the target:
52.9%
Average daily sitting time:
340 minutes
Why it matters for exams: Gives the publishing body GASTAT, the two health surveys behind the data, the 150 minutes a week target and the 59.9% share of adults who meet it.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
15 September 2026
Saudi Arabia has reported an estimated 110 million tonnes of ore containing uranium at its Jabal Sayid project in the Madinah region. Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced the exploration results at the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. The ore also holds high concentrations of rare earth elements, particularly heavy rare earth elements. The minister described the project as among the most significant rare earth mineral resource sites currently under development globally. He said the Kingdom is continuing a sedimentary cover survey initiative to explore for more uranium ore from conventional sources. The figure is the total volume of ore, not the quantity of uranium or of rare earth metals it holds. The Saudi mining company Ma'aden has partnered with the United States firm MP Materials to build capabilities for processing and separating rare earth minerals and producing associated uranium.
Ore reported:
110 million tonnes
Project site:
Jabal Sayid
Region:
Madinah
Why it matters for exams: Names the Jabal Sayid project in the Madinah region, the 110 million tonnes of uranium-bearing ore, the Saudi Energy Minister who announced it and the IAEA general conference where he spoke.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency — The United Nations body for peaceful use of nuclear energy and nuclear safeguards, based in Vienna.
26 October 2026
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior has launched a service called Absher Travel for Visitors on its Absher app. The service lets citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council states and other visitors complete their entry requirements on the phone before they reach a land border, so that crossing takes less time. Travellers can also register and insure their vehicles through the same service. The ministry announced the launch on its account on X. Several bodies worked on it with the ministry, among them the ministries of foreign affairs and tourism, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, the Insurance Authority, the General Directorate of Passports, and Public Security. Use of the service will become compulsory within six months of its launch. Absher itself was started by the Ministry of Interior in 2015 and carries government e-services such as renewing identity cards, passports, driving licences and vehicle registration.
New service:
Absher Travel for Visitors
Launching authority:
Ministry of Interior
Becomes compulsory:
six months
Why it matters for exams: Names the new service Absher Travel for Visitors, the Absher platform of the Ministry of Interior, and the rule that the service becomes compulsory six months after launch.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
GCC Gulf Cooperation Council — The grouping of six Gulf states of which Saudi Arabia is a member.
25 October 2026
King Salman has ordered a monthly allowance of SR500 for named groups of civilian and military employees, for retirees and for eligible beneficiaries of social insurance subscribers and retirees who have died. The order followed a proposal by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Social security recipients who qualify will also receive SR500 a month to help meet higher electricity and water charges, which change at the start of the next year. The same package raises the wage floor used under the Nitaqat programme. A Saudi employee must earn at least that amount for the employer to count the worker fully towards its Saudization target. The floor goes up from the present level after a transition of six months, and rises again twelve months later. Saudi Arabia's earlier Nitaqat wage floor had itself replaced a lower threshold set more than a decade ago.
Monthly allowance ordered:
SR500
Programme whose wage floor rises:
Nitaqat
Ordered by:
King Salman
Why it matters for exams: Names the SR500 monthly allowance ordered by King Salman, the Nitaqat programme and the wage floor that decides whether a Saudi worker counts fully towards an employer's Saudization target.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Nitaqat Saudi workforce localisation programme — The programme that grades private employers by how far they have employed Saudi nationals.
12 October 2026
Saudi Arabia has opened the Global Space Connectivity and Sustainability Events 2026 at the headquarters of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission in Riyadh. The three-day gathering brings together two meetings, the Connecting the World from the Skies Forum and the Space Sustainability Forum. The Commission is organising it with the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations agency for telecommunications. Regulators, satellite operators, technology companies and researchers are taking part. Sessions cover satellite connectivity including 6G and direct-to-device mobile services, and the crowding of orbits, radio interference and space debris. Delegates are also preparing positions for the next World Radiocommunication Conference, the meeting at which the ITU revises global radio spectrum rules. The Commission said the main aim is to set out clear priorities for technical and regulatory co-operation, with follow-up steps that participants can build on. The events are being held under the theme Connected Earth, Sustainable Space.
Host regulator:
Communications, Space and Technology Commission
Partner organisation:
International Telecommunication Union
Theme:
Connected Earth, Sustainable Space
Why it matters for exams: Names the Communications, Space and Technology Commission as the Saudi regulator, the International Telecommunication Union as its partner, the theme Connected Earth, Sustainable Space, and the World Radiocommunication Conference that sets global spectrum rules.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ITU International Telecommunication Union — The United Nations agency that allots radio spectrum and sets telecommunication standards.
Background
Saudi Arabia's new entry service for land-border arrivals has been placed on the Absher app, so the platform itself is worth knowing. Absher was started by the Ministry of Interior in 2015. It carries government e-services for citizens and residents, such as booking appointments and renewing identity cards, passports, driving licences and vehicle registration. The new service on it, Absher Travel for Visitors, is open to GCC nationals and other visitors, and lets them finish entry steps and insure a vehicle before reaching the border. The ministry said the service would become mandatory within six months of the launch date. The ministry built the service with partners that include the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority and the General Directorate of Passports.
Platform:
Absher
Run by:
Ministry of Interior
Started in:
2015
Why it matters for exams: Fixes the standing fact that Absher is the Ministry of Interior's e-services platform, started in 2015, which now also carries entry clearance for land-border visitors.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC