For the second consecutive time, Saudi Arabia ranked second place among the G20 countries, according to ITU’s ICT Development Index (IDI) 2024, which tracks the economies of 170 countries to measure digital development and the progress of countries in ICT services by using two main pillars ‘universal connectivity’ and ‘meaningful connectivity’.
Saudi Arabia also achieved 1st place among the G20 countries in the pillar of meaningful connectivity and 2nd place in the pillar of universal connectivity. This highlights the continuous development in the ICT sector, in building and enhancing the sector, which led to achieving this global ranking and enhancing Saudi Arabia's leadership in international index related to the ICT sector.
CST highlighted that Saudi Arabia's consistent global rankings in the IDI reflects its robust digital infrastructure, which contributes in the growth and development of the digital economy as well as attracting investments. The Saudi ICT market is the largest and fastest growing in the MENA region, with market value reaching 166B SAR, the mobile services subscriptions reached 198% of the population, while the average monthly data consumption per person exceeded the global average by 3 times.
It’s noteworthy that ITU’s IDI measures digital progress and the strength of digital infrastructure, to provide inclusive and transparent data and methodology submitted by Member States and experts in the field.
