Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The ongoing massive reforms have brought about social and cultural transformations in the Saudi society while improving the lifestyle of individuals and creating a balanced environment that combines the basic and luxurious aspects of day-to-day life. This has produced positive impact on the quality of life in terms of the rise in life expectancy, low crime rates, enhancement of prosperity with the growth of per capita income, and eventual increase in happiness, thanks to Quality of life program of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The program has been instrumental in making Saudi Arabia the topper in the Arab world in the Global Happiness Index for 2021. The launch of the Vision marks the fifth year amidst changes that resemble a radical transformation in culture, entertainment and sports. The Quality of Life program, with its wide and diverse fields, has scored great achievements, most notably the positive impact on the routine life of citizens and expatriates in Saudi Arabia. It has brought about an improvement in the lifestyle by creating the necessary environment with active participation of citizens and residents in cultural, recreational and sporting activities, which contributed to enhanced economic activities and generated many career opportunities. The Quality of Life program focuses on its initiatives and projects on two main axes, which are livability and quality of life, and each axis works under a system in which the program management provides solutions and suggestions. Livability is the sum of the factors that add up to a community's quality of life — including the built and natural environments, economic prosperity, social stability and equity, educational opportunity, and cultural, entertainment and recreation possibilities. For the livability, the program focuses on the basics of life in terms of housing, public transportation, infrastructure and health care. Initiatives to improve roads and traffic systems to reduce traffic accidents have led to a reduction in the death rate in a record time, with the application of several traffic rules and by imposing penalties against the violators. Around 70,000 Saudi families have benefited from the housing solutions and options of the "Sakani" program during the first quarter of this year, of which nearly 50,000 families have already resided in their homes. Environmentally, the Crown Prince announced the "Green Saudi" initiative, which aims to plant 10 billion trees in the Kingdom, raise the proportion of protected areas to more than 30 percent of its land area, and reduce carbon emissions by more than four percent of global contributions. As part of promoting the cultural sector, as many as 11 authorities have been created by the Ministry of Culture with the approval of the Council of Ministers in February 2020. The bodies work to diversify and upgrade the Saudi expertise in various cultural sectors such as arts, theater, music, cooking, filmmaking, heritage and antiquities with a focus on the educational aspect, by opening specialized institutes. The Ministry of Culture is also working to attract talents and motivate them to innovate and develop, through specialized programs such as the Fashion Incubator Program and the work of the Music Authority in discovering musical talents, seeking to support and empower young people in various fields. The Quality of Life program has drawn up extended plans until 2030, but it reaped some remarkable results in previous years. International security-related indicators showed that Saudi Arabia ranked first among G20 states in the economic bloc's Organized Crime Control Index.
