GASTAT Survey Targets Digital Inputs Across Saudi Establishments

Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics has launched a digital economy survey to identify establishments that depend on digital inputs, giving policymakers a new statistical route into how technology is used across the kingdom's economy.

The Saudi Arabia digital economy survey will assess businesses that rely on digital technologies, digital infrastructure, digital services and data.

The initiative is not an adoption scorecard yet.

GASTAT said it is collecting information from a representative sample of establishments across different economic sectors and regions of Saudi Arabia, so the first disclosed step is measurement rather than published results.

Representative Sample Covers Sectors And Regions

GASTAT said the survey is designed to capture a wide range of business activity and build a clearer view of how digital transformation is shaping operations.

The source description includes establishments whose performance and activity are significantly enhanced by digital technologies, services, infrastructure or data.

The survey gives Saudi Arabia a formal mechanism for separating broad digital-policy language from measurable establishment-level evidence.

It should help officials see whether digital activity is concentrated in particular sectors or whether the use of digital inputs is spreading across the economy.

Survey Data Will Support Vision 2030 Policy Work

GASTAT said the survey supports Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 digital economy ambitions and the development of statistical frameworks for measuring technology activity.

One objective is to establish a database for research, studies and indicators related to the kingdom's digital economy.

The authority said the collected data will support researchers, academics and other stakeholders by giving them statistical information for studies on digital-economy development.

The survey findings are also expected to assist policymakers and decision-makers with evidence-based insights for policies and programmes aimed at digital capability and economic diversification.

The database is the main disclosed output of the launch.

Instead of reporting a single ministry target or technology programme, GASTAT described a survey baseline for how companies use digital inputs, which sectors rely on them, and where further capability-building may be needed.

GASTAT Has Not Published Adoption Results

GASTAT also wants the survey to make comparisons possible inside Saudi Arabia and with regional or international economies.

The authority said standardised information on digital adoption and digital activity will help measure the kingdom's position in the global digital economy landscape.

The results should give a clearer view of how businesses integrate digital solutions into operations and how those tools influence productivity, competitiveness and economic development.

GASTAT framed the work as part of strengthening the kingdom's statistical capabilities for long-term economic planning, innovation and digital transformation.

GASTAT did not disclose survey results, sector-level adoption rates, sample size, or a public timetable for when the first digital economy indicators will be released.