GASTAT is the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia, the official statistical reference for GDP, inflation, labour-market data, population counts, and the data series used to track Vision 2030 KPIs.
Established in its earliest institutional form in 1960 as the Central Department of Statistics and Information, transformed into the contemporary public authority form in 2015, and operating under a Board of Directors chaired by the Minister of Economy and Planning, GASTAT serves as the institutional foundation for evidence-based policymaking across the Saudi state architecture. Headquartered in Riyadh and led by President Fahad Aldossari, the institution operates with approximately 1,500 employees and a multi-disciplinary mandate spanning macroeconomic indicators, the labour market, demographic development, quality-of-life metrics, and international comparability standards.
The institutional weight GASTAT carries within the Saudi state is structurally significant beyond what the technical statistical mandate would conventionally imply. Where comparable jurisdictions typically operate national statistical offices as ministerial-subordinate technical authorities — the US Census Bureau within the Department of Commerce, the UK Office for National Statistics under the UK Statistics Authority, the European Statistical System coordinated by Eurostat, India’s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation — GASTAT operates as a government entity with independent legal personality, with the Board of Directors chaired by the Minister of Economy and Planning but with substantial autonomy in statistical methodology, publication scheduling, and institutional positioning. The Board composition includes the Ministers of Energy, Finance, Human Resources and Social Development, Education, and Industry and Mineral Resources, the Director of the National Information Center, the President of GASTAT, and two specialists in the field of statistics — a multi-stakeholder governance architecture that ensures GASTAT operates within the broader Saudi state institutional framework while maintaining the methodological independence that statistical credibility requires.
By April 2026, GASTAT had positioned itself as one of the more institutionally credible national statistical offices among contemporary major economies. The institution’s preparation to host the Sixth United Nations World Data Forum (UNWDF) in Riyadh in November 2026 — one of the most consequential international statistical gatherings of the contemporary era — represents the institutional culmination of a substantial multi-year transformation programme. Saudi Arabia, represented by GASTAT, participated in the 57th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission in New York from 3 to 6 March 2026, with the delegation headed by GASTAT Vice President Mohammed Al-Rshaid, demonstrating the institutional engagement at the highest levels of the global statistical institutional architecture. The hosting of the Data Innovation Hackathon (15 February to 15 April 2026) — a first-of-its-kind initiative leveraging AI and innovative methodologies to advance statistical work — provided the institutional signal of GASTAT’s operational evolution from a conventional national statistical office into a contemporary data-and-AI-integrated institution. The 2024 Saudi population census result of 35,300,280 total population (62.1% male, 37.9% female), the Q4 2025 unemployment rate of 3.5% (matching the Vision 2030 target), the 2025 real GDP of approximately SAR 4.9 trillion, and the March 2026 inflation rate of 1.8%-1.9% provide the cumulative empirical evidence base on which contemporary Saudi economic analysis depends.
Quick Facts
- Established (original form): 1960 as Central Department of Statistics and Information
- Transformed to GASTAT: 2015 — public authority status with independent legal personality
- Headquarters: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- President: Fahad Aldossari
- Vice President: Mohammed Al-Rshaid
- Board of Directors Chair: Minister of Economy and Planning
- Board members: Ministers of Energy · Finance · Human Resources and Social Development · Education · Industry and Mineral Resources · Director of National Information Center · GASTAT President · two statistics specialists
- Employees: ~1,500
- Web: stats.gov.sa · datasaudi.sa
- Regulatory anchor: Article 4 of the Council of Ministers’ Resolution
- Major statistical products: GDP · Unemployment · Inflation (CPI/WPI) · Population Census · Labour Force Survey · International Trade Statistics · Industrial Production Index · Real Estate Price Index · Construction Cost Index · Business Confidence Index · Short-Term Business Indicators · Digital Economy Survey
- 2024 Population: 35,300,280 (62.1% male, 37.9% female)
- 2025 Real GDP: ~SAR 4.9 trillion
- 2025 Nominal GDP: ~SAR 4.8 trillion
- Q4 2025 unemployment (total): 3.5% — matches Vision 2030 target
- Q4 2025 unemployment (Saudi female): 10.3%
- Q4 2025 unemployment (Saudi male): 5.6%
- March 2026 inflation: 1.8-1.9% (annual)
- February 2026 industrial production growth: 8.9% YoY
- 2024 digital economy contribution to GDP: 16.0%
- Q4 2025 GDP top growth sectors: Crude oil and natural gas (12.4% YoY) · Wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, hotels (5.4% YoY)
- 6th UN World Data Forum hosting: Riyadh, November 2026
What GASTAT Is
The General Authority for Statistics traces its institutional origins to 1960 — the year the Central Department of Statistics and Information was established to assume responsibility for national statistics and information. The 1960 establishment placed Saudi Arabia among the earlier developing-country jurisdictions to formalise national statistical authority, predating the establishment of comparable statistical institutions across many developing economies and providing the institutional foundation for the subsequent six-decade statistical institutional development.
The contemporary GASTAT form was established in 2015 through transformation of the Central Department of Statistics and Information into a public authority with independent legal personality. The 2015 transformation was institutionally consequential because it elevated the statistical authority from sub-ministerial departmental status to a public authority operating with substantial autonomy in statistical methodology, publication scheduling, and institutional positioning. The transformation was timed at the institutional moment immediately preceding Vision 2030’s launch in 2016 — recognising the requirement that the Vision 2030 KPI tracking architecture would depend on a substantively credible national statistical office capable of delivering the international-comparability standards that the broader Vision 2030 international communications would require.
The strategic logic underpinning GASTAT’s contemporary mandate operates on five distinct registers, each contributing to the institutional case for the substantial state resources committed to the Saudi national statistical infrastructure.
The first is Vision 2030 KPI tracking infrastructure. The Vision 2030 architecture operates against a substantial portfolio of headline KPIs — non-oil GDP share targets, unemployment targets, female labour force participation targets, FDI targets, tourism inbound visitor targets, religious tourism throughput targets, the broader portfolio of measurable Vision 2030 commitments. Tracking progress against these KPIs at the cadence and methodological rigour required for international communications credibility depends on a national statistical office capable of delivering the relevant data products on schedule, with international-standard methodology, and with the institutional credibility that supports the published progress narratives. GASTAT is that institutional foundation.
The second register is sovereign credit rating support. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign credit ratings — currently Aa3 from Moody’s and A+ from Standard & Poor’s — depend on rating agency assessment of the underlying Saudi economic, fiscal, and demographic data. The rating agencies’ assessments depend substantially on national statistical office data quality, with rating downgrades possible where data quality concerns emerge or where statistical methodology is judged to fall below international standards. GASTAT’s institutional credibility is therefore a structural input into Saudi sovereign credit ratings and the broader cost of capital that Saudi institutional borrowers operate within.
The third register is international institutional standing. Contemporary international economic governance — through the IMF Article IV consultations, the World Bank country economic monitoring, the OECD economic surveys, the broader multilateral institutional engagement — depends on national statistical office data quality. GASTAT’s positioning as the 57th UN Statistical Commission delegate for Saudi Arabia, the host of the 6th UN World Data Forum in November 2026, and the broader institutional engagement across UN, World Bank, and IMF statistical architectures provides Saudi Arabia with the international institutional standing that depends on substantive statistical credibility.
The fourth register is policy and decision-making support. The Saudi state’s policy architecture — across the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Ministry of Finance, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), the Public Investment Fund, the broader institutional cohort — depends on the data products GASTAT delivers. Real-time labour market data, monthly inflation indicators, quarterly GDP releases, the broader portfolio of statistical products provide the empirical foundation against which monetary policy, fiscal policy, industrial policy, labour market policy, and the broader policy portfolio is calibrated.
The fifth register is investment and business decision-making support. Saudi business operations, foreign direct investment decisions, international institutional investment in Saudi assets, the broader portfolio of commercial decision-making depend on GASTAT data. Saudi corporate strategy, international corporate decisions about Saudi market entry, and the broader portfolio of commercial calculations operate against the empirical foundation that GASTAT data provides.
The combination of these five registers produces an institutional case for GASTAT’s contemporary mandate that operates substantially beyond the narrow technical statistical work that some observers would associate with a national statistical office, justifying the substantial state resources and senior-level political attention that the institution receives.
Leadership and Governance
GASTAT is led by President Fahad Aldossari, with Vice President Mohammed Al-Rshaid providing the deputy operational leadership. Aldossari’s institutional positioning combines the technical statistical leadership required for credible national statistical office operation with the political institutional engagement required to operate at the senior Saudi state level.
Aldossari’s public framing of GASTAT’s institutional positioning has consistently emphasised the data-driven decision-making mission alongside the international statistical institutional engagement. His framing of the UNICEF GCC partnership — that the partnership represents “an effective model for integration between national and international expertise in developing social statistics and enhancing data quality” — captures the broader institutional positioning that has anchored GASTAT’s strategic transformation. His framing of the Data Innovation Hackathon — bringing together the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), the Saudi Society for Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems, the Professional Association for Statisticians and Data Scientists, and the Saudi Association for Statistical Sciences — demonstrates the institutional architecture that connects GASTAT to the broader contemporary AI and data ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.
The Board of Directors is chaired by the Minister of Economy and Planning and includes:
- The Minister of Energy (cabinet portfolio anchor for energy-sector statistics)
- The Minister of Finance (cabinet portfolio anchor for fiscal and financial statistics)
- The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development (cabinet portfolio anchor for labour market statistics)
- The Minister of Education (cabinet portfolio anchor for human capital statistics)
- The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources (cabinet portfolio anchor for industrial statistics)
- The Director of the National Information Center
- The President of GASTAT
- Two specialists in the field of statistics (technical expertise representation)
The multi-stakeholder governance architecture provides the integrated coordination across the broader Saudi state institutional ecosystem that the national statistical mandate requires, while the technical specialist representation maintains the methodological independence that statistical credibility depends on.
The Statistical Product Portfolio
GASTAT’s published statistical product portfolio is among the more comprehensive among contemporary national statistical offices. The principal categories:
Macroeconomic Indicators
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Quarterly and annual GDP data using chain-linked methodology for real GDP and seasonally adjusted real GDP calculation. The 2025 annual data shows real GDP of approximately SAR 4.9 trillion and nominal GDP of approximately SAR 4.8 trillion. GASTAT publishes flash estimates approximately 30 days after quarter-end and detailed data approximately 60 days after quarter-end. Q4 2025 detail showed crude oil and natural gas activities recording 12.4% YoY growth (the highest among economic activities), wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels growing 5.4% YoY, oil activities contributing 2.6 percentage points to overall growth, and non-oil activities contributing 2.4 percentage points.
Inflation (Consumer Price Index): Monthly CPI data with annual rate calculation. March 2026 annual inflation: 1.8-1.9%, with personal care/social protection/miscellaneous goods recording the highest sub-index inflation (8.2%) and furnishings/household equipment recording the lowest (-0.5%).
Wholesale Price Index (WPI): Monthly WPI data complementing the CPI architecture for producer-side price tracking.
Industrial Production Index: Monthly industrial production data. February 2026 IPI: 8.9% YoY growth, indicating substantial industrial sector expansion.
Labour Market Statistics
Labour Force Survey (LFS): Quarterly comprehensive labour market survey delivering unemployment rates, labour force participation rates, employment-to-population ratios, and the broader labour market indicators.
Q4 2025 headline unemployment: 3.5% — matching the Vision 2030 target. Q1 2025 had reached 2.8%. The disaggregated 2025 data:
- Saudi male unemployment: 5.6% / Non-Saudi male unemployment: 1.5%
- Saudi female unemployment: 10.3% / Non-Saudi female unemployment: 3.9%
The labour force participation rate for Saudi females reached 36.2% — substantially above the 30% Vision 2030 target. The methodology uses the 2022 Census as the population base.
Demographic Statistics
2024 Population: 35,300,280 total population (62.1% male, 37.9% female). The Saudi Census is conducted periodically with the 2022 Census providing the most recent comprehensive demographic baseline.
Trade Statistics
International Trade in Goods: Monthly trade statistics covering exports, imports, re-exports, and the broader international trade architecture. February 2026: non-oil exports up 15.1% YoY (including re-exports), non-oil national exports excluding re-exports up 6.3%, re-exports up 28.5% (driven by 59.9% growth in machinery, electrical equipment, and parts which accounted for 53.9% of total re-exports).
Real Estate Statistics
Real Estate Price Index: Quarterly real estate pricing data, base year updated from 2014 to 2023 in Q3 2024. Q1 2026: General real estate price index decreased 1.6% YoY.
Construction Cost Index (CCI): Monthly construction cost tracking.
Other Major Products
Short-Term Business Indicators, Business Confidence Index (monthly), Digital Economy Survey (16% of GDP from digital economy in 2024), Health and Safety at Workplace Statistics, Comprehensive Economic Survey (used to update the GDP base year), and the broader portfolio of specialised surveys covering health, education, environment, and the comprehensive social and economic measurement architecture.
The 6th UN World Data Forum — Riyadh, November 2026
The Sixth United Nations World Data Forum (UNWDF) — scheduled for Riyadh in November 2026 — represents the institutional culmination of GASTAT’s multi-year strategic transformation and Saudi Arabia’s broader institutional positioning within the global statistical institutional architecture.
The UN World Data Forum is a high-level international platform established by the United Nations in 2017 as part of efforts to advance data and statistics in response to rapid global changes. Its creation reflects the pivotal role that statistical indicators play in developing plans, shaping policies, informing decision-making, and supporting economic and developmental planning. The previous five editions have been held in Cape Town (2017), Dubai (2018), Bern (2021), Hangzhou (2023), and Medellín (2024), with the 2026 Riyadh hosting representing Saudi Arabia’s elevation to host status alongside the other major-economy hosts that have preceded.
The hosting is institutionally significant beyond its symbolic dimension. The UNWDF brings together heads of national statistical offices from around the world, representatives of the broader UN statistical system, representatives of the broader multilateral institutional architecture (World Bank, IMF, OECD), data scientists from public and private sectors, civil society representatives, and the academic statistical community. The Riyadh hosting positions Saudi Arabia at the institutional centre of the global data and statistics policy conversation for the duration of the forum and its preparatory programme.
The Road to Riyadh series of events — held throughout 2026 in preparation for the November forum — has included:
- The Data Innovation Hackathon (15 February to 15 April 2026) — first-of-its-kind initiative leveraging innovation and technology to advance statistical work. 132 teams competed across two main tracks (Innovative Data Collection / Intelligent Processing and Classification using AI). 16 teams qualified for the final stage (8 per track), with 6 winning teams selected.
- Multiple panel discussions on women’s empowerment statistics, social statistics, AI integration into statistical work, and the broader thematic content that the November forum will substantively address.
- The 57th UN Statistical Commission session (3-6 March 2026 in New York) — where GASTAT’s delegation, headed by VP Al-Rshaid, highlighted Riyadh’s UNWDF preparations and reaffirmed institutional coordination with international partners.
The cumulative Road to Riyadh programme provides the institutional momentum that the November forum requires while progressively building the broader Saudi statistical institutional capacity that the contemporary data era requires.