Saudi Arabia: Employees in the health sector by nationality (Saudi/ non-Saudi), sex, profession and sector of employment (2022)

Ministry of Health Other Government Sector Private Sector Total
Saudis Non-Saudis Total Saudis Non-Saudis Total Saudis Non-Saudis Total Saudis Non-Saudis Total
Physicians
 Male 15,651 19,257 34,908 7,380 5,968 13,348 3,726 15,652 19,378 26,757 40,877 67,634
Female 10,693 9,886 20,579 4,429 1,867 6,296 1,130 9,693 10,823 16,252 21,446 37,698
Total 26,344 29,143 55,487 11,809 7,835 19,644 4,856 25,345 30,201 43,009 62,323 105,332
Dentists
 Male 3,943 439 4,382 820 223 1,043 2,433 6,114 8,547 7,196 6,776 13,972
Female 2,650 121 2,771 721 89 810 2,213 4,131 6,344 5,584 4,341 9,925
Total 6,593 560 7,153 1,541 312 1,853 4,646 10,245 14,891 12,780 11,117 23,897
Nurses
 Male 26,760 1,489 28,249 8,267 3,487 11,754 1,324 6,544 7,868 36,351 11,520 47,871
Female 43,090 32,889 75,979 6,952 21,492 28,444 1,887 41,706 43,593 51,929 96,087 148,016
Total 69,850 34,378 104,228 15,219 24,979 40,198 3,211 48,250 51,461 88,280 107,607 195,887
Midwives
 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Female 1,187 468 1,655 139 460 599 36 2,381 2,417 1,362 3,309 4,671
Total 1,187 468 1,655 139 460 599 36 2,381 2,417 1,362 3,309 4,671
Pharmacists
 Male 2,738 43 2,781 1,114 195 1,309 3,630 18,515 22,145 7,482 18,753 26,235
Female 1,789 76 1,865 936 217 1,153 3,764 1,023 4,787 6,489 1,316 7,805
Total 4,527 119 4,646 2,050 412 2,462 7,394 19,538 26,932 13,971 20,069 34,040
Allied Health Professionals
 Male 55,805 1,057 56,862 12,712 1,581 14,293 6,309 9,034 15,343 74,826 11,672 86,498
Female 21,158 1,617 22,775 7,677 2,542 10,219 11,566 7,304 18,870 40,401 11,463 51,864
Total 76,963 2,674 79,637 20,389 4,123 24,512 17,875 16,338 34,213 115,227 23,135 138,362
Total
 Male 104,897 22,285 127,182 30,293 11,454 41,747 17,422 55,859 73,281 152,612 89,598 242,210
Female 80,567 45,057 125,624 20,854 26,667 47,521 20,596 66,238 86,834 122,017 137,962 259,979
Total 185,464 67,342 252,806 51,147 38,121 89,268 38,018 122,097 160,115 274,629 227,560 502,189

Source: Ministry of Health, Statistical Yearbook 2022

1. Characteristics of data

These data are employment counts of health personnel working in various sectors (MoH, other governmental, private) as recorded in administrative workforce data.
Data on healthcare establishments and workforce are based on administrative records from multiple official sources, including:
Ministry of Health (MoH); Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS- the official regulatory/licensing body responsible for accrediting
and licensing health professionals to practice in Saudi Arabia); Other governmental entities (e.g., Ministry of Defense, National Guard, Ministry of Interior).

2. Institution which provides data 

Ministry of Health
https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/pages/default.aspx

3. Data availability 

MoH’s Annual Statistical Yearbooks are available in the Ministry’s website Open Data Portal, in PDF and Excel formats
https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/Ministry/OpenData/Pages/default.aspx
Open Data Library:
https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/ministry/opendata/pages/open-data-library.aspx

Annual Statistical Yearbooks:
https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/ministry/statistics/book/pages/default.aspx
https://www.moh.gov.sa/ministry/statistics/book/pages/default.aspx

Data on health personnels are published in the “Health Resources” chapter

A processing of the Ministry of Health data is published annually by GAStat since 2023:
(“social statistics”, then “Health Statistics”, then “Healthcare Establishments and Workforce Statistics”)
https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/statistics-tabs?tab=436312&category=2968800

Last date of access: 26 January 2026.

Keywords: Employment, Saudi Arabia, National & Foreign Labour, Highly-Skilled Labour

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