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

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ministry of Health
 Saudis 59,273 61,704 62,888 66,236 67,061 69,850 72,323 75,746
Non-Saudis 43,269 42,296 42,706 40,019 39,282 34,378 36,430 41,376
Total 102,542 104,000 105,594 106,255 106,343 104,228 108,753 117,122
Other Government Sector
 Saudis 5,056 5,810 13,540 13,592 14,145 15,219 17,602 21,885
Non-Saudis 30,097 29,185 30,030 30,096 28,318 24,979 26,424 26,866
Total 35,153 34,995 43,570 43,688 42,463 40,198 44,026 48,751
Private Sector
 Saudis 2,625 2,070 2,284 3,262 3,274 3,211 4,096 8,514
Non-Saudis 41,792 39,506 43,459 38,993 44,715 48,250 56,235 68,949
Total 44,417 41,576 45,743 42,255 47,989 51,461 60,331 77,463
Total
 Saudis 66,954 69,584 78,712 83,090 84,480 88,280 94,021 106,145
Non-Saudis 115,158 110,987 116,195 109,108 112,315 107,607 119,089 137,191
Total 182,112 180,571 194,907 192,198 196,795 195,887 213,110 243,336

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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