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. [1]
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. [1]
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. [1]
D4 Teacher training mandated and funded before rollout 1 No dedicated teacher pre-certification or funded teacher training programme confirmed before rollout. [1]
D5 Dedicated funding attached to the requirement 2 Curriculum is funded as part of Vision 2030 Human Capability Development Program with explicit budget commitments. [1]
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. [2]
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. [2]
D8 Pre-redundancy training obligation exists 0 No pre-redundancy training obligation for companies citing AI-driven layoffs. [1]
D9 Workers have rights when AI used in employment decisions 0 No legal rights framework for workers in AI-driven employment decisions. [1]
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. [3]
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. [1]
D12 Enforcement mechanism exists with named authority 0 No enforcement mechanism specifically for AI literacy or training obligations. [1]
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. [3]
D14 Digital infrastructure support for schools and institutions 1 Significant digital infrastructure investment underway; Vision 2030 includes infrastructure commitments for schools and public institutions. [1]