Saudi Arabia’s workforce strength at 14.6 mln by Q3 2022, 64% in private sector

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The number of workers in Saudi Arabia reached 14.59 million by the end of Q3 2022, data issued by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) showed.

The private sector accounted for 64% of total workforce, followed by the public sector at 12%. Domestic workers constituted about 25%.

The Minister of Economy recently stated that Saudi Arabia aims to raise private sector contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) to 65% by 2030 from the current 43%.

By the end of Q3 2022, the number of expat workers reached 10.90 million, constituting 75% of the total workforce.

The private sector attracted about 66% of expat workers, followed by domestic workers at 33% and the public sector at only 1%.

On the other hand, the number of Saudi workers amounted to about 3.69 million, representing about 25% of the total workforce.

The public sector employed 42% of Saudi workers, while the remaining 58% were working in the private sector, as shown below:

On a gender basis, the number of  Saudi male workers reached 2.27 million (equivalent to 61.5% of the total workforce). In comparison, Saudi female workers stood at 1.42 million (equivalent to 38.5% of the total workforce).

The private sector employed the largest number of male and female Saudi workers.

Male expats reached 9.59 million (equivalent to 88% of the total), while female expats stood at 1.3 million (equivalent to 12% of the total).

The majority of male expats were working in the private sector, while most female expats were serving as domestic workers. 

Details and historical data for Macro Economy