Saudi Arabia: Number of dentists by nationality (Saudi/ non-Saudi) and sector of employment (2017-2024)

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ministry of Health
 Saudis 3,349 3,546 4,270 5,227 6,220 6,593 6,527 8,625
Non-Saudis 647 591 573 588 590 560 529 706
Total 3,996 4,137 4,843 5,815 6,810 7,153 7,056 9,331
Other Government Sector
 Saudis 965 1,128 1,424 1,460 1,679 1,541 1,878 3,586
Non-Saudis 318 303 261 308 319 312 360 598
Total 1,283 1,431 1,685 1,768 1,998 1,853 2,238 4,184
Private Sector
 Saudis 1,219 1,734 1,904 3,051 4,221 4,646 5,554 7,387
Non-Saudis 9,201 9,450 10,381 8,988 9,710 10,245 11,122 12,849
Total 10,420 11,184 12,285 12,039 13,931 14,891 16,676 20,236
Total
 Saudis 5,533 6,408 7,598 9,738 12,120 12,780 13,959 19,598
Non-Saudis 10,166 10,344 11,215 9,884 10,619 11,117 12,011 14,153
Total 15,699 16,752 18,813 19,622 22,739 23,897 25,970 33,751

Source: Ministry of Health, Statistical Yearbooks, given years

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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