Digital Government & Citizen Services

Is dealing with government getting easier?

Ambitious Nation pillar20 sources9 metricsLast reviewed 2026-05-16

What this means for citizens

Public services that once required physical visits and paper trails — court filings, business registrations, property transfers, ID renewals — now resolve from a phone. Document notarization that took 5 days is closer to 47 minutes. Court cases that once took 248 days now resolve in 3 weeks.

Hero metric

UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI)

52nd

6th globally

2024 edition

2018 baseline · 52ndTarget

Saudi Arabia climbed from 52nd (2018) to 6th (2024) — a 25-position rise that is among the most dramatic improvements recorded in the survey's history. Now ranked 2nd among G20 nations for online service quality.

Exceptional progressOfficial2 sources1 news1 analysis

Publishers include: UN · Soul of Saudi

The Story

Before

Before Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's digital government services were patchy: some ministries had portals, most did not, and there was no unified citizen experience. The UN's E-Government Development Index placed the Kingdom in the middle of the global pack.

Initiative

The Digital Government Authority (DGA), established 2021, set standards across all government entities. The result: a unified national identity (Nafath), platform consolidation (Absher, Tawakkalna, Najiz), end-to-end digitalization of high-volume services, and a mobile-first design language. Saudi Arabia allocated $6.4B specifically to digital government technology in the 2024 budget.

Outcome

By 2024, Saudi Arabia ranked 6th globally on the UN EGDI — a 25-place rise from 2018, one of the largest improvements recorded. The Kingdom is now 2nd among G20 nations for the quality and reach of its online services, and 1st in MENA for the third consecutive year.

For citizens

Supporting metrics

UN EGDI rank

6th globally (up from 52nd in 2018)

2024

MENA e-government leader

1st (3rd consecutive year)

2024

Essential services online

89%

Mid-2025

Digital Transformation Measurement Index

86%

2025

Tawakkalna expands Hajj support to 19 languages

1,300+ services and 350+ government entities now accessible to pilgrims through the platform in 19 languages.

Capacity2025

Absher records 448M+ digital transactions

448,243,708 transactions processed — 417.37M individual and 30.87M business. Up from 430M+ the year before.

Partnership2026

Saudi Arabia and UK expand digital-economy partnership

Bilateral discussions advance partnership in digital economy, AI, digital infrastructure, and future technologies.

Recognition2025

Saudi Arabia ranks 6th globally in e-government

Up from 44th in 2017 on the UN E-Government Development Index — one of the largest single-decade jumps recorded by any country.

Programs delivering these outcomes · 6

Absher

program

The 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.

Nusuk

program

The unified platform for Umrah and Hajj planning, launched by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in 2022. Consolidated what had been a fragmented multi-agency process (visa application, travel package, accommodation, transport, mosque-access permits) into a single application. By 2025, the bulk of Umrah pilgrims from outside the GCC enter the kingdom through Nusuk-issued visas.

Tawakkalna

program

Launched 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.

Sehhaty

program

The 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.

MCIT

institution

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

The ministry overseeing the kingdom's digital transformation strategy, broadband and 5G infrastructure rollout, and supervision of the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) and SDAIA. Sets the institutional framework that underpins Absher, Tawakkalna, Sehhaty, Nusuk, and the wider government-services digital layer.

STC Pay

program

The 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.

Evidence library · 8 sources

Filter coming in 2.1

Saudi Arabia Digital Government — UN E-Government Index 6th Place

UN / DESA via Vision2030.ai6th in the world for digital government

Tier 32026-02

Saudi Arabia Ranks First in E-Government Services (MENA)

Soul of Saudi6th in the world for digital government

Tier 22025-05-07

Absher carries out over 430 million e-transactions in 2024

Saudi Gazette430 million government transactions, done from a phone

Tier 22025-03-13

Over 8.5 Million Electronic Transactions on Absher in December 2024