Saudi Arabia features prominently in the World Bank Group’s World Development Report 2026, The Promise of Artificial Intelligence, which ranks the Kingdom among the world’s top 10 countries for private AI investment and describes it as a magnet for AI talent and a model for government data integration. The recognition reflects the leadership’s backing and the national approach set by Saudi Vision 2030 to build an economy driven by data, compute and innovation.

The report is the World Bank’s first comprehensive look at how AI affects developing economies. It is organized around three dimensions: Capabilities, or AI’s power to widen access to expertise and support decisions; Concentration, as advanced models, chips and data centers cluster in a few countries and firms; and Complements, such as infrastructure, data, skills and institutions. It traces a path from adopting existing tools, to adapting them to local languages, data and needs, to developing frontier technology, and stresses that success depends on a connected ecosystem rather than simply the biggest models.

Under Concentration, the report notes that Saudi Arabia pairs tax incentives with special economic zones to attract data center investment and build compute capacity, linking capital with talent, startups and energy. Data center capacity grew from 68 MW in 2021 to 440 MW in 2025 and 467 MW in the first quarter of 2026, up more than 6% since the start of the year and nearly sevenfold since 2021. 4G and 5G coverage reached 99% by the end of 2025, with average internet speeds of 216 Mbps.

Under Capabilities, it lists the Kingdom with Luxembourg, Australia and Switzerland among the economies with the highest net inflows of AI professionals per 10,000 LinkedIn members in 2025, and records a net inflow of 3.08 among leading AI authors and innovators. The national technology workforce has reached about 426,000, up 186.6% from 150,000 in 2018, and women now hold 35% of communications and IT jobs.

Under Complements, the report presents SDAIA’s platform, which integrates data across more than 60 government entities while leaving data in their own systems, as a model for structured, trusted data exchange. The digital economy now contributes 16% of GDP, the ICT market reached SAR199 billion in 2025, and the Kingdom ranked second in the World Bank Group’s 2025 GovTech Maturity Index.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha sat on the report’s High-Level Advisory Panel, and the team consulted the Saudi Competitiveness and Business Center, the WBG–Saudi Arabia Knowledge Hub and national public, private and research bodies.

The report’s release is especially timely after the Cabinet, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, designated 2026 the “Year of AI” on March 10, 2026. Its findings confirm the Kingdom’s integrated approach, combining infrastructure, compute, data, talent, regulation and wider use of technology, in support of Saudi Vision 2030.