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| General Authority for Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Name | General Authority for Statistics |
| Native name | الهيئة العامة للإحصاء |
| Formed | 2015 |
| Jurisdiction | Saudi Arabia |
| Headquarters | Riyadh |
| Chief1 name | Dr. Abdulaziz bin Saeed Al-Mutairi |
| Chief1 position | President |
General Authority for Statistics The General Authority for Statistics is the central statistical agency of Saudi Arabia tasked with producing official statistics, managing national surveys, and coordinating statistical activities across Saudi institutions. It serves as the primary source of quantitative data for policy actors, planners, and analysts associated with the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, the Saudi Central Bank, and regional entities. The Authority interfaces with international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund to align national outputs with global statistical standards.
Established by a royal decree in 2015, the Authority succeeded earlier statistical units embedded in the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, and the Ministry of Health. Its creation followed preparatory work influenced by models used by the United States Census Bureau, the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom), Statistics Canada, and Eurostat. Early leadership engaged with the United Nations Statistical Commission, the Arab League's statistical arm, and the Gulf Cooperation Council statistical committee to harmonize practices. Major milestones include the first national census since the 2004 Population and Housing Census, structural reforms linked to the Saudi National Transformation Program, and adoption of metadata systems comparable to those of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The Authority's statutory mandate covers population censuses, labor market statistics, household surveys, price indices, and industry and agriculture data. It supplies inputs used by the Saudi Ministry of Finance, the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, and the Public Investment Fund for macroeconomic modeling and fiscal planning. Responsibilities extend to maintaining registries, publishing time series used by the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Health Organization, and contributing to indicators tracked by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The organization is headed by a president supported by vice-presidents overseeing statistics production, methodology, and administration. Divisions correspond to demographic statistics, economic statistics, social statistics, geographic information systems, and IT infrastructure. Regional offices coordinate with the Saudi Ministry of Interior's municipal directorates and the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information. Advisory and oversight roles draw on panels including representatives from King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, King Saud University, and the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center.
Data collection modalities include household interviews, business establishment surveys, administrative data integration, and remote sensing partnerships. Methodological frameworks adhere to classifications such as the International Standard Industrial Classification, the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose, and System of National Accounts standards promoted by the United Nations Statistical Division and the IMF's data dissemination standards. Sampling and weighting procedures are informed by practices from the Demographic and Health Surveys program, the European Statistical System, and academic research from the American Statistical Association and the Royal Statistical Society.
Key outputs comprise the Population and Housing Census, the Labor Force Survey, the Consumer Price Index, the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, and the Establishment Census. Regular publications include statistical yearbooks, monthly bulletins, labor market reports, and thematic analyses used by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. Data products support research by institutions such as Prince Sultan University, the Arab Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum, and the Gulf Labour Markets and Migration program. Special releases have informed planning for projects like Neom, the Red Sea Project, and the Qiddiya entertainment megaproject.
The Authority participates in international statistical networks, contributing data to the United Nations Statistical Commission, collaborating with the World Bank's Data Group and the IMF's Statistics Department, and engaging with the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries. Technical assistance programs have included partnerships with Statistics Netherlands, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Japan's Statistics Bureau, and the United Nations Population Fund. Compliance efforts focus on meeting Sustainable Development Goals indicators monitored by the United Nations and regional reporting obligations to the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics.
Critiques have centered on data transparency, timeliness of releases, and gaps in disaggregation by gender, nationality, and region, issues highlighted by researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Human Rights Watch, and academic journals. Debates have arisen over methodology changes between censuses, revisions to labor market figures used by the International Labour Organization, and discrepancies cited by private sector analysts and the International Monetary Fund. Calls for greater openness reference practices at other national statistical offices such as Statistics Sweden and Statistics Norway, and urge improvements in access to microdata for independent researchers while maintaining confidentiality obligations under Saudi legal frameworks.
Category:Statistics agencies