The workforce supporting R&D activity expanded too: the total number of employees reached 49,337 by the end of 2023, up 12.2 per cent year-on-year, with researchers alone numbering 36,832 — a 22.1 per cent increase. The higher-education sector accounted for the majority of these staff, with 76.1 per cent, followed by the private sector at 17.9 per cent and government roles at 6.1 per cent. The private sector contributed SAR 9.31 billion in funding, while the government provided SAR 12.12 billion and higher education received SAR 1.17 billion. Expenditure splits show the private sector spent SAR 8.70 billion, government SAR 8.66 billion, and higher education SAR 5.24 billion.
Industry observers point to two key drivers: technology ambitions centred on artificial intelligence and global sustainability goals in energy and materials science. For instance, the national energy-champion Saudi Aramco committed US$100 million to a decade-long R&D collaboration with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology to advance upstream technologies, energy transition and digital innovation. Such strategic moves align with Saudi Arabia’s broader aim to reduce dependence on oil revenue and raise the non-oil economy’s contribution.
Despite the uptick in spending, the country’s gross domestic expenditure on R&D remains moderate: in 2023 it stood at 0.56 per cent of GDP, up from 0.46 per cent in 2022. That compares with a global average near 0.43 per cent and places the kingdom well below leading innovation economies. The ranking from the World Intellectual Property Organization places Saudi Arabia 60th globally for gross R&D spending as a percentage of GDP.
The government acknowledges that significant structural and cultural shifts are still required. A senior official in the research ministry noted that accelerating private-sector participation in high-value R&D remains a priority, especially given that private-sector effort still trails government-led projects in scale and impact. The higher-education dominance — three-quarters of the workforce are university-based — suggests the challenge lies in translating academic research into commercial outcomes.
Consultants tracking global R&D trends highlight further hurdles: talent attraction, deep technical capability and research-commercialisation infrastructure are still nascent. They point out that the focus on mega-projects and vision-driven national programmes may obscure the incremental steps needed to embed a robust innovation ecosystem. For example, the Greater Arab and Gulf region’s push towards attracting foreign research partnerships is underway but faces competition from established hubs in Europe, North America and East Asia.
Nevertheless, the strategic clarity behind the increased spending is evident. The kingdom’s major sovereign investor, the Public Investment Fund, is directing billions of dollars into sectors where R&D plays a core role — such as digital infrastructure, biotech, advanced materials and renewable-energy technologies. This financial muscle, coupled with the expanded R&D workforce and growing institutional commitments, suggest the kingdom is moving from ambition towards execution.
Critics caution that the budgetary commitment to R&D must be sustained and that efficiency metrics should be introduced. They argue that without robust measurement of outcomes — such as patents, spin-out companies and trickle-down commercialisation — mere spending increases will not suffice. Government planners counter that the current phase is “pre-commercial” and that the timeline to realise full-scale innovation dividends extends into the second half of this decade.
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Saudi Arabia