If you’re 18 in Saudi Arabia today: notes on the first Vision-only generation

If you’re 25 in Saudi Arabia today — the protagonist of an earlier article in this portal — you remember the shift. If you’re 18, you don’t. The shift is the country.

This portal’s earlier generational piece was written from the perspective of someone turning 25 in 2021 — a generation that finished secondary school in the earliest Vision 2030 years and consciously experienced the shift. That piece worked because the protagonist had a “before” frame: they remembered what changed.

The generation now turning 18 has a different relationship with the same changes. They were nine when the cinema ban lifted in April 2018, nine when driving permission for women came in June of the same year, eleven when the first Riyadh Season launched, twelve when the pandemic forced the TawakkalnaTawakkalnaLaunched in 2020 by SDAIA (the Saudi Data and AI Authority) for COVID-19 contact tracing and movement permits. Evolved post-pandemic into a general-purpose citizen-services platform offering ~250 services from various government agencies through a single sign-on. One of the most-installed apps in the Saudi market.→ Read more in the glossary and SehhatySehhatyThe Ministry of Health's national patient-facing app. Hosts vaccination records, lab results, prescription tracking, medical appointment booking, and telemedicine consultations. Centralized what had previously been a fragmented health-records system distributed across separate provider IT systems.→ Read more in the glossary rollouts, sixteen when the Riyadh MetroRiyadh MetroThe kingdom's first major urban metro system. Six lines, 85 stations, 176 km of track — opened in staged phases starting December 2024 and continuing through 2025. The largest single metro inauguration in modern transit history by line count opened simultaneously. Operated by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and the Public Transport Authority. Initial 2025 ridership running ahead of the conservative projection but below the 3.6M-passengers-per-day long-term capacity.→ Read more in the glossary opened in stages. The reforms that defined an earlier generation’s adult life are the background facts of this generation’s childhood. There is no “before.”

This piece is a composite portrait — not a single individual, not a survey average, but the kind of citizen-voice notes that the eighteenth year specifically rewards.

What they take for granted

Cinemas exist. They’ve always existed in this generation’s life. The genuinely notable thing about going to a film is the film, not the venue. The Boulevard Riyadh complex, the Diriyah seasonal events, the F1 weekend in Jeddah — these are unremarkable parts of the entertainment landscape, not the transformation they appeared as a decade ago.

Their female cousins, sisters, friends, and classmates drive. Half the women they know are employed or actively studying toward employment. The female workforce participation rate moved from 17% to 36% during their childhood; from their perspective, that’s just the labor market. What an earlier generation saw as a reform is, to them, the standard configuration.

They renew their ID through AbsherAbsherThe kingdom's citizen-services super-app, launched in 2010 by the Ministry of Interior and steadily expanded. Hosts ~200+ government services in one interface: passport and ID services, license and vehicle registration, residency permits, civil records, and dependent management. Processed over 430 million transactions in 2024 — roughly 12 transactions per Saudi resident per year.→ Read more in the glossary on their phone. They’ve never queued at a Ministry of Interior office. They’ve never carried physical vaccination certificates — Sehhaty has had their records since they were vaccinated as children during the pandemic. They’ve never paid in physical cash for most transactions — madamada — Saudi Payments NetworkThe kingdom's national payment switch, operated by Saudi Payments (a subsidiary of SAMA). Connects every Saudi bank's debit cards to every Saudi point-of-sale terminal, ATM, and e-commerce gateway. Effectively universal in the kingdom — over 99% of Saudi debit cards are mada-enabled. Has expanded to support contactless, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and mada Pay, and to interoperate with the GCC's AFAQ cross-border settlement network.→ Read more in the glossary cards, Apple Pay, and STC PaySTC PayThe kingdom's largest digital wallet, owned by Saudi Telecom Company. Reached unicorn valuation (over $1.3B) in late 2020 after the Western Union investment — the first Saudi fintech to hit that mark. Operates as a digital bank under the SAMA framework since 2021, with 14M+ users by 2024. Now a regional payments brand expanding through Pakistan, Egypt, and Bahrain.→ Read more in the glossary have been the default since they had their first bank account.

They’re more likely to have a passport than not. The 2019 reform that allowed Saudi women over 21 to obtain passports independently happened during their childhood; international travel as routine is built into their reference frame.

The labor market they’re entering

First, government employment is no longer the default expectation. Their parents’ generation defaulted toward government jobs; this generation defaults toward private-sector employment with government roles as one option among several. The expansion of regional headquarters, the rise of Saudi fintech, and the growth of the entertainment and content sectors have made private-sector careers visible and viable in ways they weren’t a decade ago.

Second, the educational track is different. They went through the MadrasatiMadrasatiThe national digital learning platform for K-12 education, launched in August 2020 in response to COVID school closures. Reached 6M+ Saudi students and over 500,000 teachers during peak pandemic use. Has remained as the official supplementary digital infrastructure for Saudi schools since.→ Read more in the glossary platform during COVID and have had access to SAMAISAMAI — Saudi AI initiativeThe national AI training program, delivered through SDAIA (Saudi Data & AI Authority). Has trained over 1.1 million Saudis in AI and adjacent fields between 2020 and 2025 — roughly 10% of the Saudi labor force. One of the largest national upskilling programs by volume globally.→ Read more in the glossary AI-training pathways since secondary school. The university applicants in their cohort concentrate in computer science, business, healthcare professions, engineering, and the creative industries — a different mix from the earlier generation’s concentration in religious studies, public administration, and basic sciences.

Third, geographic flexibility is different. The Riyadh Metro and expanded transport infrastructure have made cross-city employment realistic. The female 18-year-old in Jeddah accepted to a job in Riyadh now has a metro line plus a Haramain HSRHaramain HSR — Haramain High Speed RailThe 450-km high-speed rail line connecting the two holy mosques (Mecca and Medina) via Jeddah and King AbdulAziz International Airport. Operational since October 2018, running at speeds up to 300 km/h. Cuts the Mecca-Medina trip from 5+ hours by road to about 2.5 hours, and has been a major capacity multiplier for the pilgrimage logistics during peak seasons.→ Read more in the glossary option for weekend visits home; ten years ago that career step required a different set of family logistics.

What they assume about the next decade

They assume the cultural openness continues. The cinemas don’t close; the concerts don’t stop; the women in workforces stay there. The legal infrastructure built since 2018 is durable enough that they don’t think of it as reversible.

They assume Saudi Arabia is a place to build a career, not a place to leave for one. The expat work-experience model that defined an earlier generation — go to London, Dubai, or Houston for substantive experience, then return — has weakened considerably. There’s now enough career infrastructure locally for many Saudi careers to play out domestically.

They assume the climate question matters and that water will be a long-term constraint. This generation will live through whether the 2060 net-zero commitment lands and whether the water arithmetic holds.

They assume Saudi Arabia matters internationally in a way it didn’t before. The F1 weekend, the 2034 World Cup, the Esports World Cup, the Red Sea Film Festival, the COP16 hosting — these aren’t aspirational items; they’re the lived experience. The kingdom as a peripheral regional player is not a frame this generation recognizes.