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

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ministry of Health
 Saudis 3,589 3,740 3,930 4,214 4,266 4,527 4,681 5,242
Non-Saudis 264 266 291 144 131 119 92 149
Total 3,853 4,006 4,221 4,358 4,397 4,646 4,773 5,391
Other Government Sector
 Saudis 1,558 1,908 2,336 2,194 2,375 2,050 2,946 4,053
Non-Saudis 746 744 604 566 539 412 440 463
Total 2,304 2,652 2,940 2,760 2,914 2,462 3,386 4,516
Private Sector
 Saudis 1,130 1,438 1,582 3,286 5,417 7,394 7,671 12,988
Non-Saudis 21,025 21,029 23,129 17,125 18,112 19,538 20,980 23,961
Total 22,155 22,467 24,711 20,411 23,529 26,932 28,651 36,949
Total
 Saudis 6,277 7,086 7,848 9,694 12,058 13,971 15,298 22,283
Non-Saudis 22,035 22,039 24,024 17,835 18,782 20,069 21,512 24,573
Total 28,312 29,125 31,872 27,529 30,840 34,040 36,810 46,856

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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