RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is making strong progress in digital health and education, with data highlighting key advancements in the Kingdom’s transformation toward a digital-based economy under Vision 2030.
According to the Digital Economy Navigator, a global framework that measures countries’ digital maturity, the Kingdom scored 91.2 in digital for health and education, and 83.1 in workforce training.
Speaking to Arab News, Alaa Abdulaal, chief of digital economy foresight at the Riyadh-headquartered Digital Cooperation Organization, said the Kingdom is highlighted as one of the fastest transforming digital economies, with strengths in digital aspects.
“Saudi Arabia is doing very well in digital education and digital health, as well as in digital work and training,” Abdulaal said. “(The Kingdom) is considered among the frontier countries in terms of maturity level across these pillars.”
She added that the Digital Economy Navigator is both a measurement and guidance tool, helping countries identify their areas of strength and the sectors that require further development.
“The Digital Economy Navigator is a tool that would help countries understand where they stand from a digital-economy maturity perspective,” she said.
Saudi Arabia’s strong foundation in digital regulation has also supported its rapid transformation, Abdulaal said.
“From a regulation perspective, Saudi Arabia’s score is considered very good,” she added. “They are developing a lot of regulations that are enabling a very strong environment for prosperity, but also with the acceleration of the digital economy and the quick acceleration development in technology, there is always room (for) doing better from a regulation perspective.”
While the Kingdom’s performance in education, health and workforce development is among the strongest globally, Abdulaal said digital innovation remains an area requiring greater focus.
“Still digital innovation needs a lot of investment and a lot of focus, not only in Saudi, but as I said, across a lot of countries that we have assessed.
“It needs a lot of investment research and development. The uncertainty that is behind innovation also may cause a fear in investment in innovation, but as we see with the acceleration of the technology, we see that the need of the research and development areas is really helping in accelerating the growth of the digital economy.”
She said that the framework draws data from both primary and secondary sources, including surveying an average of 500 participants per country, to capture the lived experiences of citizens.
“It means that people have a say in how mature their digital economy is; it reflects their perspective as beneficiaries and contributors,” Abdulaal added.
“We took the societal aspect into consideration as an important pillar in the digital economy. And with this framework, it will help understand where you stand and how you move forward.”
Abdulaal highlighted how human capital development is the foundation of a resilient digital economy.
“Human capital is one of the main pillars of the digital economy,” she said. “When you look at the enabler dimension, there is a pillar called digital capabilities, which is really focused on how much each country is investing in upskilling and reskilling their society with the right skills.”
She added that countries including Saudi Arabia are performing well in digital literacy but must now prepare for a more advanced phase of transformation.
“We are in an era (of) AI, Internet of Things. You hear about quantum computing, you hear about all of those digital and technology advancements. We need to make sure that our society is equipped with the right skills that will enable them to be part of this.”
