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The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) held a closing ceremony to celebrate the teams involved in the second round of Innovation Lab projects, acknowledging their hard work in creating statistical initiatives and projects that have helped improve institutional development and foster a culture of innovation in statistics.
During his opening remarks, the president of GASTAT, Fahad Aldossari, emphasized the importance of continuing to develop innovative initiatives and strengthening their role in advancing statistical work in a manner that supports decision-making.
It is noteworthy that GASTAT has launched a dedicated portal for receiving innovative ideas, enabling all those interested in official statistical work to submit their proposals and ideas via the following link:
https://www.stats.gov.sa/ar/innovation

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has announced the list of teams qualified for the final stage of the Data Innovation Hackathon. The first phase, covering outreach and screening, was launched on 15 February, alongside the official website and the reception of executive summaries of ideas. The hackathon aims to empower innovators and experts to address challenges related to the collection and processing of national statistical data.
The list of qualified teams includes 16 teams out of a total of 132 participating teams, with 8 teams selected for the “Innovative data collection” track, leveraging non-traditional data sources, and 8 teams for the “Intelligent processing and classification” track through the application of artificial intelligence technologies.
The final results are expected to be announced on April 15, following the virtual judging of the presentations. GASTAT will host a ceremony to honor the winners and award prizes totaling SAR 75,000.
It is noteworthy that the Data Innovation Hackathon is part of “Road to Riyadh” series of events organized by GASTAT in preparation for hosting the 6th UNWDF next November. The initiative aims to highlight Saudi Arabia’s readiness and the significant statistical development it is witnessing under Saudi Vision 2030.
 

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has released the results of the 2025 Volunteer Work Statistics, which showed that the volunteer rate among the population aged 15 years and older reached 9.5% during a four-week period and 19.0% over a 12-month period. Males recorded higher volunteer rates than females during both periods, with the male volunteer rate reaching 11.1% during the four-week period compared with 6.3% for females. Over the 12-month period, the volunteer rate for males reached 21.5%, compared with 14.2% for females.
The results also indicated that the volunteer rate among Saudis during the four-week period reached 9.3%, recording 11.9% for males and 6.8% for females. Meanwhile, the volunteer rate among non-Saudis during the same period reached 9.6%, with 10.7% for males and 5.3% for females. Over the 12-month period, the volunteer rate among Saudis reached 18.9%, recording 22.6% for males and 15.3% for females, while the volunteer rate among non-Saudis reached 19.1%, with 21.0% for males and 11.9% for females.
The results further indicated that direct volunteering was the most prevalent form of volunteering during the four-week period. Among Saudis, the direct volunteering rate reached 7.5%, compared with 1.6% for volunteering through volunteer-organizing entities and 0.2% for multiple volunteering. Among non-Saudis, the direct volunteering rate reached 8.0%, compared with 1.5% for volunteering through volunteer-organizing entities and 0.1% for multiple volunteering.

With regard to age groups, the results showed that the highest volunteer rate among Saudis during the four-week period was recorded in the 35–44 age group, at 13.6%. Within this group, the volunteer rate reached 18.5% among males and 8.8% among females. In terms of educational attainment, individuals holding a master’s or doctoral degree recorded the highest volunteer rates. The volunteer rate among Saudis holding a master’s or doctoral degree reached 19.5%, with 24.9% for males and 8.7% for females.
It is noteworthy that the Volunteer Work Survey is one of the household surveys conducted by GASTAT. The survey is based on a representative sample of approximately 24,000 households and aims to provide accurate data on the characteristics of volunteer work in Saudi Arabia, including volunteer rates, volunteering methods, and the characteristics of volunteers, in accordance with the standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has launched the Innovative Ideas Platform, a platform designed to enable the submission of innovative ideas in the field of official statistics. The platform facilitates the sharing of innovative ideas and supports the development of statistical solutions and methodologies.
The platform aims to promote a culture of innovation in the field of statistics and to attract high-quality ideas and initiatives that contribute to advancing statistical work and achieving its national objectives. This initiative comes as part of GASTAT efforts to enhance its statistical services, solutions, and outputs, in line with the transformation taking place in Saudi Arabia, and in support of building a more efficient and innovative statistical ecosystem.
GASTAT invites all interested parties to submit their innovative ideas in the field of statistics through the following link: https://www.stats.gov.sa/innovation