RIYADH — Saudi Arabia topped the list of countries developing Arabic language models during the year 2025, according to the findings of a recent study. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) carried out the study, in cooperation with the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language (KSGAAL). It was revealed in the study that the Arabic language has been playing a pivotal role of large models in strengthening the presence of the Arabic language in digital spaces and enhancing its global competitiveness. It was pointed out that these models support Arabic's digital footprint and accelerate the adoption of innovation within institutions. The study is aimed to support the development of the Arabic-language artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and identify the requirements for building models with stronger capabilities to understand Arabic and its diverse dialects, generate content, and execute instructions. The study reviewed the evolution of Arabic language models from their early reliance on rule-based systems before 2000, through statistical models and neural networks, to the era of large language models and their contemporary generative applications between 2022 and 2025. This phase witnessed the launch of dozens of Arabic models, including conversational and generative systems designed to meet Arabic needs in the technological, educational, and knowledge domains. The study identified more than 53 Arabic language models as of the first quarter of 2025, with Saudi Arabia leading countries developing these models. It noted growing international interest in Arabic-supportive language models, while analyses showed limited investment in models supporting audio and visual formats despite their future importance. Text-only models accounted for 81 percent of the total, compared with 7 percent for multimodal models. According to the results of the BALSAM benchmark issued by KSGAAL, which compares the performance of Arabic language models with their global counterparts in Arabic-language tasks, global models outperformed in most linguistic skill categories. However, the findings also highlighted promising strengths in some Arabic models in specific tasks, with a slight edge in summarization and comparable performance in creative writing and reading comprehension. The study outlined a roadmap detailing practical steps to achieve leadership in large Arabic language models. These include focusing on providing high-quality Arabic data covering diverse dialects and domains, developing models with multiple capabilities and varying sizes, establishing Arabic benchmarks to assess model quality, and supporting local adoption by public and private institutions, as well as wider community use. The study comes as part of the cooperation between SDAIA and KSGAAL, representing a qualitative step that reflects the Kingdom's commitment to integrating linguistic and cultural identity with technological advancement. It aims to ensure the presence of the Arabic language within the global AI ecosystem, reinforcing Saudi Arabia's position as a leading regional hub for developing Arabic language technologies and empowering digital Arabic content.
