Saudi Arabia: Employees in the health sector by nationality (Saudi/ non-Saudi), sex, profession and sector of employment (2023)

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 17,709 18,524 36,233 7,351 6,306 13,657 5,317 17,054 22,371 30,377 41,884 72,261
Female 12,251 9,776 22,027 4,157 1,989 6,146 1,702 11,164 12,866 18,110 22,929 41,039
Total 29,960 28,300 58,260 11,508 8,295 19,803 7,019 28,218 35,237 48,487 64,813 113,300
Dentists
 Male 3,911 412 4,323 980 256 1,236 2,960 6,651 9,611 7,851 7,319 15,170
Female 2,616 117 2,733 898 104 1,002 2,594 4,471 7,065 6,108 4,692 10,800
Total 6,527 529 7,056 1,878 360 2,238 5,554 11,122 16,676 13,959 12,011 25,970
Nurses
 Male 27,203 1,646 28,849 8,956 3,859 12,815 1,739 7,856 9,595 37,898 13,361 51,259
Female 45,120 34,784 79,904 8,646 22,565 31,211 2,357 48,379 50,736 56,123 105,728 161,851
Total 72,323 36,430 108,753 17,602 26,424 44,026 4,096 56,235 60,331 94,021 119,089 213,110
Midwives
 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Female 1,206 483 1,689 157 475 632 29 2,647 2,676 1,392 3,605 4,997
Total 1,206 483 1,689 157 475 632 29 2,647 2,676 1,392 3,605 4,997
Pharmacists
 Male 2,766 47 2,813 1,458 225 1,683 3,702 19,855 23,557 7,926 20,127 28,053
Female 1,915 45 1,960 1,488 215 1,703 3,969 1,125 5,094 7,372 1,385 8,757
Total 4,681 92 4,773 2,946 440 3,386 7,671 20,980 28,651 15,298 21,512 36,810
Allied Health Professionals
 Male 58,417 857 59,274 15,240 1,556 16,796 7,119 9,397 16,516 80,776 11,810 92,586
Female 25,235 1,756 26,991 9,650 2,863 12,513 13,953 7,645 21,598 48,838 12,264 61,102
Total 83,652 2,613 86,265 24,890 4,419 29,309 21,072 17,042 38,114 129,614 24,074 153,688
Total
 Male 110,006 21,486 131,492 33,985 12,202 46,187 20,837 60,813 81,650 164,828 94,501 259,329
Female 88,343 46,961 135,304 24,996 28,211 53,207 24,604 75,431 100,035 137,943 150,603 288,546
Total 198,349 68,447 266,796 58,981 40,413 99,394 45,441 136,244 181,685 302,771 245,104 547,875

Source: Ministry of Health, Statistical Yearbook 2023

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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