RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has witnessed an unprecedented and historic transformation in women's empowerment, with their active participation in various fields becoming a cornerstone in achieving the goals of Vision 2030. The year 2024 reflects the continuation of this development path, empowering Saudi women to be active partners in decision-making and policy making. The latest data released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) for 2024 showed that the total number of Saudi women exceeded 9.8 million, while the employment rate among Saudi women rose to 31.8 percent, and their labor market participation rate reached 36 percent. The Saudi Women's Statistics Report 2024, released by GASTAT, gives a comprehensive overview of Saudi women aged 15 and above. This report provides a diverse set of statistical indicators across various fields, including education, health, employment, and culture. Based on the results of numerous surveys and census data, the report provides diverse statistics that reflect the progress and achievements of Saudi women. According to the report, the total number of Saudi women is 9,807,663, with the age group of 15-34 representing 35.7 percent of the total female population. Significant progress was highlighted in the labor market, where the unemployment rate for Saudi women dropped to 13 percent in 2024, a notable decrease from 19 percent in 2022. This coincided with an expansion of women's economic participation. The report also showcased the achievements of Saudi women in social, economic, educational, health, cultural, and recreational fields. There has been a significant decline in female unemployment, with the rate reaching 11.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 13.9 percent in the same quarter of 2023 and 15.7 percent in the same period of 2022. Saudi women have also achieved remarkable accomplishments in the fields of education, innovation, and sports. The percentage of women holding a bachelor's degree or its equivalent reached 35.3 percent of the total Saudi women aged 25 and above. Twenty-two Saudi women obtained patents in 2024, in addition to 1,956 local and international awards in the field of sports. The report highlighted the efforts made to empower Saudi women in the labor market, as the decline in unemployment rates coincided with an expansion in women's economic participation and an increase in their employment rates across various sectors. It revealed the distribution of women joining the labor market by sector, with the number of Saudi women in the private sector reaching 997,000, in the government sector 506,000, and in the public sector 157,600. It also showed that the average weekly working hours for Saudi women was 39 hours, while their average monthly wage was SR4,832 for the age group of 15-24 years, SR8,328 for the age group of 25-54 years, and SR10,739 for the age group of 55 years and above. In terms of lifestyle, the report indicated that 44.6 percent of Saudi women aged 18 and above engage in at least 150 minutes of weekly physical activity. Cultural and recreational activities are also popular, with visits to parks and gardens being the most frequent, at 62.7 percent. The Women 2024 Report also presents the latest statistics on women and highlights several indicators that help accelerate progress in women's empowerment, intensify efforts, and adopt quality and effective policies to achieve this. The GASTAT explained that it relied on several sources in preparing the report, including field surveys, population estimates, and sources from multiple entities. The most important indicators related to women were identified to provide the necessary data for decision-makers and policymakers, and to monitor progress made on gender and diversity indicators, with the possibility of international and local comparisons.
