Saudi cybersecurity sector adds $4.9bn to GDP

19/09/2025 02:09 AST

Saudi Arabia's cybersecurity sector added SR18.5 billion ($4.9 billion) to the Kingdom's economy in 2024, marking a 19 percent jump from the previous year, official data showed.

In its latest report, the National Cybersecurity Authority said the sector represented 0.40 percent of the country's total gross domestic product and 0.71 percent of non-oil activities.

The study noted that the size of the Kingdom's cybersecurity market - representing total spending by public and private entities - reached SR15.2 billion in 2024, up 14 percent year on year.

Ensuring cybersecurity is a key priority for Saudi Arabia as it seeks to position itself as a regional hub for technology and innovation under Vision 2030.

This comes as Saudi Arabia maintained its position as the top-ranked country in global cybersecurity for 2025, according to the International Institute for Management Development's World Competitiveness Yearbook.

In a further endorsement of its international standing, Saudi Arabia was designated a Tier 1 "role-modeling" nation in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 published by the UN's International Telecommunication Union.

"This sustained growth (in cybersecurity market) is driven in part by NCA's ongoing initiatives to enhance the security and resilience of the Saudi cyberspace, which have elevated awareness, regulatory compliance, and investment across the various demand segments," NCA said in its latest report.

The authoruty, the national reference point for cybersecurity, is tasked with strengthening digital resilience by protecting critical infrastructure, key sectors, and government services. It also sets policies, frameworks, and standards while promoting innovation, investment, and sector growth.

According to the data, public sector spending stood at SR4.8 billion, or 32 percent of the market, while private sector outlays reached SR10.3 billion, accounting for 68 percent.

Expenditure on cybersecurity products made up 51 percent of the total market at SR7.7 billion, while services accounted for 49 percent at SR7.5 billion.

The authority noted that 420 providers were registered in the sector, with 98 percent based in Riyadh, Makkah or the Eastern Province, underscoring the concentration of demand and supply in the country's main business hubs.

The report also showed that Saudi Arabia's cybersecurity workforce surpassed 21,000 professionals in 2024, a 9 percent rise from the year before. Women made up 32 percent of the workforce, exceeding the global average of 24 percent.

"This progress is attributed to various programs and initiatives aimed at developing current and future cybersecurity skills and meeting national needs - ultimately supporting the Kingdom's economic and social development," said NCA.

In a column for Arab News in August, Majid Rafizadeh, a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist, called Saudi Arabia's cybersecurity model a "blueprint for the future," adding that the Kingdom's approach to cybersecurity "stands out so prominently in 2025."

"The Kingdom has built one of the most advanced, comprehensive, and forward-looking cybersecurity frameworks in the world. It has not only recognized the importance of cybersecurity but has acted decisively, creating institutions, strategies, and educational pipelines that are now viewed as models for other nations to follow," he said.

Arab News