Saudi Arabia Tops Global ICT Development Index for 2025
Riyadh, The Gulf Observer: Saudi Arabia has secured the top global position in the 2025 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ICT Development Index, which evaluates the digital advancement of 164 countries in terms of universal and effective connectivity.
The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) officially confirmed the Kingdom’s leading status, attributing it to comprehensive national strategies aimed at enhancing competitiveness and promoting sustainable growth in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
CST emphasized that the Kingdom’s robust and advanced digital infrastructure has played a pivotal role in the continued expansion of the digital economy, which reached a value of SAR 459 billion in 2024, contributing 15 percent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia’s ICT market, valued at SAR 180 billion in 2024, remains the largest and fastest-growing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
In addition, the country achieved a mobile subscription penetration rate of 212 percent, and reported monthly data usage per user that is three times the global average — a testament to the Kingdom’s digital maturity and consumer engagement in the ICT domain.
