Saudi Arabia
54%
15/28
AI Gap Index
8/10
Schools
2/8
Workforce
2/6
Governance
3/4
Access
Schools 8/10
D1 AI literacy curriculum exists in schools 2 National AI curriculum launched for 6 million K-12 students from elementary to secondary level in 2025-2026 academic year.
D2 Curriculum is binding law or mandate 2 Curriculum is mandated nationally through coordinated action by Ministry of Education, SDAIA, and National Centre for Curriculum — applied to all public schools.
D3 Ethics component included in curriculum 1 Curriculum includes responsible AI use components; ethics integrated as part of the AI modules but no standalone ethics subject confirmed.
D4 Teacher training mandated and funded before rollout 1 No dedicated teacher pre-certification or funded teacher training programme confirmed before rollout.
D5 Dedicated funding attached to the requirement 2 Curriculum is funded as part of Vision 2030 Human Capability Development Program with explicit budget commitments.
Workforce 2/8
D6 Employers legally required to train all employees 1 SAMAI and SAMAI 2 programmes train public sector employees across 11 ministries; private employers face no legal obligation.
D7 Training must cover ethics and critical evaluation 1 SAMAI training covers responsible AI practices alongside technical use; ethics component included but minimum standard not defined.
D8 Pre-redundancy training obligation exists 0 No pre-redundancy training obligation for companies citing AI-driven layoffs.
D9 Workers have rights when AI used in employment decisions 0 No legal rights framework for workers in AI-driven employment decisions.
Civil Service & Governance 2/6
D10 Civil servants working with AI must receive training 1 SDAIA (Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority) is the lead AI governance body but functions primarily as strategy and development authority rather than an independent regulator with full enforcement powers.
D11 Minimum training standard is defined 1 Civil servant training is covered by SAMAI programmes targeting government ministries, but no defined minimum standard for civil servants using AI.
D12 Enforcement mechanism exists with named authority 0 No enforcement mechanism specifically for AI literacy or training obligations.
Public Access 3/4
D13 Free or publicly funded AI literacy resources available 2 Free public AI literacy resources available nationally; SAMAI has reached over 1.2 million citizens. Microsoft partnership targets 3 million by 2030.
D15 Digital infrastructure support for schools and institutions 1 Significant digital infrastructure investment underway; Vision 2030 includes infrastructure commitments for schools and public institutions.