Saudi Arabia: Saudisation and women’s employment
Vision 2030 aimed to raise women’s participation in the labour market from 22% to 30%. The target was reached well ahead of time, while the kingdom pushes firms to hire Saudis rather than foreign workers. What the labour force survey shows, nationals and foreigners apart.
Scope: Saudi Arabia, population aged 15 and over. Labour Force Survey of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), republished by the ILO, by sex and citizenship (Saudis, non-Saudis), annual averages since 2017; ILO modelled estimates (World Bank) since 1990 for the international comparison.
Key points
- The 30% target reached as early as 2020. The participation rate of Saudi women rises from 18.0% in 2017 to 30.5% in 2020, then 34.8% in 2025: a gain of 16.7 pt in eight years.
- Unemployment of Saudi women divided by nearly three. It falls from 32.4% in 2017 to 11.0% in 2025. It remains higher than that of Saudi men (4.7%).
- The gap with men remains. The participation rate of Saudi men is 64.9% in 2025, nearly twice that of Saudi women.
- Two labour markets. Foreigners, who came to work, have a participation rate of 82.3% and unemployment of 1.3%; among Saudis, these rates are 49.7% and 7.0%.
- A catch-up visible worldwide. According to ILO estimates, women’s participation (nationals and foreigners) reaches 33.6% in 2025, above the Arab World average (19.0%) but below the world average (48.9%).
How to read these figures
The participation rate relates people in employment or unemployed to the whole population aged 15 and over; the employment rate counts only people in work; the unemployment rate relates the unemployed to the labour force only. These rates come from GASTAT’s quarterly Labour Force Survey, whose annual averages by sex and citizenship the ILO publishes. Resident foreigners are mostly contract workers: their rates do not compare with those of Saudis.
The Vision 2030 target (2016) concerns women’s participation in the labour market; the dotted line marks 30%. The World Bank long series is an ILO modelled estimate for the whole resident population, nationals and foreigners together: it differs from the survey rates and is used only for the international comparison.
1. Saudi women enter the labour market
The participation of Saudi women rose sharply between 2017 and 2022, then levelled off around 35%. That of Saudi men barely moves.
Participation rate of Saudis, by sex
Saudi nationals aged 15 and over. Dotted line: Vision 2030 target of 30% for women.
- Saudi men
- Saudi women
Source:ILO (GASTAT Labour Force Survey)
Show the chart data
| Period | Saudi women | Saudi men |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 18.0% | 62.5% |
| 2018 | 19.7% | 63.4% |
| 2019 | 23.2% | 65.7% |
| 2020 | 30.5% | 66.5% |
| 2021 | 33.6% | 65.9% |
| 2022 | 35.6% | 67.4% |
| 2023 | 35.2% | 66.1% |
| 2024 | 35.9% | 66.4% |
| 2025 | 34.8% | 64.9% |
Employment rate of women, Saudi and foreign
Share of women aged 15 and over who have a job.
- Foreign women
- Saudi women
Source:ILO (GASTAT Labour Force Survey)
Show the chart data
| Period | Saudi women | Foreign women |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 12.2% | 24.4% |
| 2018 | 13.6% | 26.4% |
| 2019 | 16.0% | 27.3% |
| 2020 | 21.8% | 25.2% |
| 2021 | 26.2% | 34.3% |
| 2022 | 28.8% | 29.9% |
| 2023 | 29.7% | 31.4% |
| 2024 | 31.2% | 26.6% |
| 2025 | 30.9% | 34.9% |
2. Unemployment of nationals falls
Unemployment among Saudis, long high while the country employs millions of foreigners, has fallen. The fall is sharpest among women.
Unemployment rate: Saudi women, Saudi men, foreigners
Unemployed relative to the labour force aged 15 and over.
- Foreigners (both sexes)
- Saudi men
- Saudi women
Source:ILO (GASTAT Labour Force Survey)
Show the chart data
| Period | Saudi women | Saudi men | Foreigners (both sexes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 32.4% | 7.4% | 0.7% |
| 2018 | 31.4% | 7.3% | 0.9% |
| 2019 | 31.1% | 5.8% | 0.4% |
| 2020 | 28.5% | 7.2% | 2.2% |
| 2021 | 22.0% | 6.1% | 2.4% |
| 2022 | 18.9% | 4.6% | 1.8% |
| 2023 | 15.7% | 4.7% | 1.4% |
| 2024 | 13.1% | 4.3% | 1.3% |
| 2025 | 11.0% | 4.7% | 1.3% |
3. Nationals and foreigners
Saudisation (Nitaqat) requires firms to employ quotas of Saudi staff according to their size and sector. The participation rates show two very different populations: 82.3% for foreigners, who came to work, against 49.7% for Saudis in 2025.
Participation rate, Saudis and foreigners
Both sexes, aged 15 and over.
- Foreigners (both sexes)
- Saudis
Source:ILO (GASTAT Labour Force Survey)
Show the chart data
| Period | Saudis | Foreigners (both sexes) |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 40.8% | 74.4% |
| 2018 | 42.0% | 74.9% |
| 2019 | 44.9% | 75.3% |
| 2020 | 48.8% | 74.2% |
| 2021 | 50.1% | 76.5% |
| 2022 | 51.7% | 74.4% |
| 2023 | 50.8% | 81.6% |
| 2024 | 51.2% | 80.0% |
| 2025 | 49.7% | 82.3% |
4. International comparison
Over the long run, women’s participation in Saudi Arabia, long among the lowest in the world, has caught up with and then exceeded the Arab World average.
Female participation rate: Saudi Arabia, Arab World, world
ILO modelled estimates, whole resident population (World Bank). In 1990: 15.0% in Saudi Arabia.
- World
- Arab World
- Saudi Arabia
Source:World Bank (ILO modelled estimates)
Show the chart data
| Period | Saudi Arabia | Arab World | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 15.0% | 19.3% | 51.2% |
| 1991 | 14.9% | 19.4% | 51.1% |
| 1992 | 15.0% | 19.8% | 51.1% |
| 1993 | 15.3% | 19.7% | 50.8% |
| 1994 | 15.5% | 20.1% | 50.9% |
| 1995 | 15.8% | 19.9% | 50.9% |
| 1996 | 16.1% | 19.9% | 50.8% |
| 1997 | 16.3% | 19.7% | 50.9% |
| 1998 | 16.6% | 19.6% | 50.9% |
| 1999 | 16.9% | 20.0% | 51.0% |
| 2000 | 16.4% | 20.1% | 51.0% |
| 2001 | 15.9% | 20.0% | 50.8% |
| 2002 | 15.8% | 19.3% | 50.7% |
| 2003 | 16.2% | 19.4% | 50.7% |
| 2004 | 16.6% | 19.6% | 50.6% |
| 2005 | 17.0% | 19.8% | 50.6% |
| 2006 | 17.5% | 20.0% | 50.4% |
| 2007 | 17.0% | 20.6% | 50.2% |
| 2008 | 16.7% | 20.2% | 49.9% |
| 2009 | 16.4% | 20.5% | 49.7% |
| 2010 | 17.6% | 20.7% | 49.4% |
| 2011 | 19.0% | 20.7% | 49.2% |
| 2012 | 19.8% | 20.5% | 48.9% |
| 2013 | 19.8% | 20.6% | 48.7% |
| 2014 | 20.3% | 20.7% | 48.6% |
| 2015 | 21.6% | 20.7% | 48.5% |
| 2016 | 22.9% | 20.7% | 48.5% |
| 2017 | 19.9% | 19.9% | 48.4% |
| 2018 | 21.8% | 18.9% | 48.3% |
| 2019 | 24.4% | 18.3% | 48.3% |
| 2020 | 29.3% | 17.6% | 47.0% |
| 2021 | 34.2% | 17.9% | 47.9% |
| 2022 | 34.1% | 17.8% | 48.3% |
| 2023 | 34.3% | 19.1% | 49.0% |
| 2024 | 33.3% | 19.0% | 49.1% |
| 2025 | 33.6% | 19.0% | 48.9% |
What we know, what we don’t
What the figures establish
- The participation of Saudi women in the labour market has nearly doubled since 2017 and exceeds the 30% target.
- Unemployment among Saudi women has fallen sharply, but remains above that of men.
- Nationals and foreigners form two separate labour markets.
What they don’t tell
- The quality and pay of the jobs women hold: these rates do not measure them.
- The specific effect of Saudisation quotas or of the right to drive (2018): these series do not measure the effect of a policy.
- The share of real jobs and of jobs created to fill quotas: no public series measures it.
Sources
Series downloaded from their producers on Nov 12, 2026, the snapshot date. Only published periods are used: no projection.
- ILO (GASTAT Labour Force Survey) Labour force participation, employment and unemployment rates by sex and citizenship (ILOSTAT)
- World Bank (ILO modelled estimates) Labor force participation rate, female, 15+ (SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS)