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Targeting more than 35,000 households and 53,000 Establishments The General Authority for Statistics is conducting 5 field statistical works next week The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has invited all citizens and residents, as individuals or in corporations, to cooperate with the statisticians working in the field in various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who their statistical work will start next Tuesday Shawwal 26th,1439AH (July 10th, 2018). GASTAT asserted that all information and data given by citizens, residents and corporations is confidential and will be treated as an information basis which is reliable and can be used by development decision-makers in all relevant government entities that will serve the interest of citizens and residents.  GASTAT spokesman, Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej said that more than (1600) statisticians are conducting 5 social and economic statistical surveys during this period until Dhu Al-Qidah 20th, 1439 AH (August 2nd, 2018).  These statistical works are targeting more than 35,000 households and 53,000 establishments in all (13) administrative regions. He mentioned that the field surveys of the economic indicators are used by the decision makers who are involved in the unemployment issue and increasing the employment in the internal trade activity. In addition, the recent statistical data contribute to the knowledge of the volume of internal trade activity and the measurement of its contribution to GDP. He pointed out that the Labor Force Survey helps to extract real indicators and data on unemployment, workers and the economic participation in the Kingdom, as well as data on labor force for the population (15 years old and above). This survey is one of the household field surveys based on a sample, conducted by GASTAT in the field of social statistics. He added that these data are important in terms of giving a picture of the size of the labor force among the working age population of male and female, active and economically inactive.  Mr. Almofarrej mentioned that the field surveys that will be conducted by GASTAT next week by statisticians who are holding official ID cards includes: Industrial Production Survey (3rd quarter, 2018), Economic Indicators Survey (3rd quarter, 2018), Internal Trade Activity Survey (3rd quarter, 2018), Construction Activity Survey 2018, and Tourism Survey 2018.

GASTAT releases the labour market bulletin (first quarter, 2018) next Thursday in a press conference The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) will hold a press conference next Thursday Shawwal 21, 1439H corresponding July 5, 2018 in its head office in Riyadh. In this conference, GASTAT will announce the labor market bulletin results for the first quarter of 2018. GASTAT spokesman, Mr. Taiseer Almoffarej said that we will announce the population’s total unemployment rate, Saudis’ unemployment rate, and the labor force data of quarter 1, 2018.  In addition, the labor market bulletin’s statistical methodology will be explained to all media representatives who are considered essential partners in   spreading the statistical data for the remarkable role of media channels in raising statistical awareness among society. Almofarrej mentioned that GASTAT worked hard to make sure that the bulletin is thorough and includes all data and information needed by GASTAT clients while presenting them in a clear and transparent way which is an important standard of the statistical work. It is worth mentioning that the labor market bulletin, which is published by GASTAT quarterly, includes the data of labor force, employed and unemployed persons, economic participation and unemployment rate, and job seekers numbers. These data are taken from the administrative records of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, General Institution of Social Insurances, Human Recourses Fund, and National Information Center.

Organized by the Excellence Awards Academy at the level of the Arab region GaStat Wins the Arab Government Achievements Award (2018) for the “Interactive map of the Services Guide” The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) won the Arab Government Achievements award for the “Interactive map of the Services Guide” launched recently through GaStat’s official website. On Tuesday 13/10/1439H., the Excellence Awards Academy in U.A.E, the organizer of the “Afkar” Award for Excellence in Government Innovation for the year 2018 at the level of Arab region, announced selecting the Interactive Map for the Services Guide issued by GaStat, within the top seven excellent services in the region among more than 47 services nominated to win the award.  The Interactive Map of the Services Guide is a technical tool provided by GaStat to view the services’ statistics guide for the Kingdom’s cities and villages. It is the unified reference of all government and private entities available services in different regions of the Kingdom, at the level of cities and villages in the 13 administrative regions. It includes data and information of 16,263 localities (village-city). It includes geographical information and data, Health and education services, data on the availability of administrative, social and agricultural services and public services. The total number of the main tables and its sections included in the guide is (5810) detailed table. The guide, which was prepared by the contribution of 27 government entities, is one of the most important statistical resources for all data of the Kingdoms’ cities and villages. It is issued by GaStat every 3 years in order to provide unified data and information with official documentation and a high degree of accuracy for all services available in the cities and villages of the Kingdom so that these data are a unified reference for all ministries, government agencies and institutions, students and researchers, and media. The Interactive map of the Services Guide provides the main data for planners, policy and decision makers according to the localities in the administrative regions. A user can perform a search by selecting the locality that has a specific service in a specific search circle, or selecting the nearest locality on the map. It also provides the possibility of displaying the distribution of services according to the type of service or administrative regions. The service also includes a “Services calculator” which is a statistical tool to conduct statistical calculations based on the databases. The results can be viewed on the map to understand the geospatial distribution of any search, and the results can be extracted on Excel file. The guide contains geographical data and information at the level of the locality (city, village) in addition to the available private and government education services (all three levels and Qura’an schools (boys and girls)), and services of university education, technical education, agricultural education, health education, scientific, professional and commercial institutes, disabled educational institutes, schools of adult education and literacy and kindergartens. Health services including hospitals, primary health care centers, government and private clinics, Saudi Red Crescent services, data of administrative centers (governorate, center), police and civil defense centers, civil affairs, passports agency, endowments, labor offices, the centres of the General Presidency of the promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vices, courts, municipalities Social security offices, social development centers, directorates and branches of the Ministry of Agriculture, branches and offices of agricultural development funds, real estate development, industrial development, , And branches of ministries and agencies as well as public services, including electricity, water, telecommunications, postal services, telegraph offices, tourism, travel and banking services.

In Order to Benefit from the Best Statistical Practices to Improve the Statistical Sector Saudi Arabia Participates in the International Conference “Big Data for European Statistics” in Bulgaria    Deputy Chairman of Statistical Innovation and Client Services, Dr.Mohmmad AL-Ahmad represented the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) in the international conference “Big Data for European Statistics” that was held between 14-15 May 2018 in Sofia, Bulgaria.  Dr.AL-Ahmad clarified that the conference discussed the results of the ESSnet Big Data project; a network project of 22 partners from 20 European countries and it is financed by Eurostat. The project aimed at integrating big data of official statistics through sharing expertise of big data possible sources and creating an implementation plan. He added that the project started in February 2016 for 28 months until May 2018 and it consists of 10 workgroups: (WP1 to WP8) are for the content, (WP10) is for the coordination and (WP9) is for the entire project. GaStat accepted the invitation of ESSnet Big Data project in order to learn more about the European countries’ experiences in this field, and to benefit from these practices to serve GaStat’s plans of using big data for producing new statistical indicators in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the participants visited the National Statistics Institute NSI in Bulgaria and met Mr. Sergey Tsvetarsky NSI president to view the institute’s activities and statistical works.  GaStat participation in this conference comes within its strategic plans to build international partnership between the Kingdom and a number of distinguished countries in this field, also to benefit from the best international statistical expertise and practices in order to improve the statistical sector in the Kingdom.

(53.6%) Perfom Umrah in Ramadan GASTAT: More Than 19M  Umrah Performers in 2017 On Tuesday Ramadan 13, 1439H corresponding May 29, 2018, The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) released the report of Umrah statistics bulletin (2017). It is implemented for the second time by GASTAT as one of the new products associated with the Saudi vision 2030. The report contains many Umrah-related indicators and results which have been taken from the Umrah survey (domestic Umrah performers), and the registered data that pertains to the ministry of Hajj and Umrah (foreign Umrah performers). Through this bulletin, GASTAT and its related governmental partners want to create a database for all domestic and foreign Umrah performers to support decision and policy makers in term of the services provided to Umrah performers. According to the results of Umrah statistics bulletin 2017, the total number of Umrah performers reached (19.079.306) performers, (6.532.074) of whom came from outside Saudi Arabia as showed in the registered data of the ministry of Hajj and Umrah. On the other hand, the total number of domestic Umrah performers (Saudis and non-Saudis) hit (12.547.232) performers according to the results of Umrah survey conducted by GASTAT. The percentage of Saudi Umrah performers who came from inside Saudi Arabia is (46.9%), whereas non-Saudis who came from inside Saudi Arabia recorded (53.1%). However, the percentage of male domestic Umrah performers registered (64.3%), while females percentage registered (35.7%). The bulletin results also showed that Ramadan is considered a top season during which Umrah is performed by people from inside Saudi Arabia, as (53.6%) of total Umrah performers performed it in Ramadan. As for Umrah performers from outside, King Abdulaziz airport in Jeddah registered the highest percentage on foreign Umrah performers with (62.51%), while the percentage registered by Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz airport in Medina hit (25.7%).  All data of the Umrah survey results are available on GASTAT website www.stats.gov.sa to serve researchers and those who are interested in such data, and to support decision makers by providing them with detailed results.

It includes 20 chapters and data of more than 50 governmental entities GASTAT releases the 53rd edition of the Statistical Yearbook (2017) GASTAT released the (53rd) edition of the Statistical Yearbook for 1438/1439 H (2017). It is one of the most important statistical products released by GASTAT to monitor and document statistical data and information, also to shed light on the activities of the governmental bodies and the private sector as well.  Additionally, it reflects the growth rates from year to year and the improvement in the economic, social and population fields. The Statistical Yearbook aims to provide statistical data and information to businessmen, companies, planners, researchers and to the public too. Moreover, it accurately indicates the dimensions of the comprehensive development that were achieved by the Kingdom.  The Statistical Yearbook includes 20 chapters and over 300 tables that contain updated information which were added to improve the display and the documentation of statistical indicators and data. It covers the most significant data and information for different development sectors as well as the main results of the statistical works carried out by GASTAT during the year, also the data received from different statistical departments of more than 50 governmental and private sectors. Moreover, it includes data about: population and vital characteristic, housing and real-estate, health, training and education, agriculture, water and environment, culture and information, internal trade, social development and services, money, insurance and prices, administrative services, labor market, industry, domestic product and household expenditure, transportation, technology and communication, Islamic affairs, Hajj and Umrah, tourism ,  entertainment and sport, energy, economic establishments, and data on the budget.  The Statistical Yearbook is not limited to a certain category, for example, the population and vital characteristics chapter is considered one of the significant chapters that includes useful data to conduct a research or to build indicators related to population; and through this, many development requirements can be achieved in all cities and governorates. On the other hand, policy planners and decision makers can benefit from the training and education chapter, the private sector can prepare necessary plans as well to establish more educational institutions. In addition, these data are useful for planners and those who are interested in regulating the labor market.  The social development and services chapter is important for citizens in which it shows the services provided by them. Additionally, this chapter is also useful to social researchers in which it helps them to conduct researches and studies related to social issues.    The findings of the labor market and the social protection’s chapter are very important to prepare plans to regulate the labor market and to find the right solutions. Furthermore, they can be used to conduct economic researches by economists and researches who are interested in this.  Money, insurance and prices chapter can serve a large number of researchers in the economic field to conduct studies that show the inflation rates and the consumption patterns of the population and other indicators. It is worth mentioning that the first edition of the book was released in 1385 H (1965) and GASTAT usually prepares its chapters based on two main sources: the results of the researches and the field studies carried out by GASTAT and the statistical data received from different statistical departments from various governmental bodies.

According to the results of households and individuals’ ICT access and usage survey 2017 GASTAT: 83.83% of individuals (12 to 65 years) use internet, and 92% use cell phone On Thursday 24th of Sha’aban 1439 H corresponding 10th of May 2018, the General Authority for Statistics has released the report of households and individuals’ ICT access and usage survey results 2017. This report aims at providing recent data and indicators about the communication and information technology activity, which helps decision makers in obtaining necessary statistical data. In addition, it helps in founding a wide range data base that can be used as a reliable reference for ICT activity’ studies and research. It also provides researchers and students with statistical data about the households and individuals ICT activity, so that they can use it in their scientific studies and research that contribute in developing this activity in Saudi Arabia. Not to mention its role in making local, regional, and international comparisons in the households and individuals ICT activity. Based on the survey results, the percentage of households who can access the internet reached 86.8%. however, households who have fixed phone in their dwellings registered 24.74%. on the other hand, individuals who use the internet recorded 68.13% of total Saudi population, whereas 83.83% of individuals whose ages range between (12 and 65 years) use the internet. As for cell phones, the percentage of individuals who use cell phones is 73.28% of total Saudi population. 91% of individuals whose ages range between (12 and 65 years) use cell phones. According to the results of this survey, the percentage of households who have a computer in their dwellings reached 46.6% of total Saudi population. However, individuals who use computers registered 24.69%, whereas 30% of total individuals whose ages range between (12 and 65 years) use computers. As for the percentage of households who have a television, they registered 92.67% of total Saudi population.

Targeting (57350 households) and (33450 establishments) GASTAT conducts (12) statistical works that last until the beginning of Ramadan The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has asked all citizens and residents whether individuals or institutions to cooperate with its statisticians who work in the field all over Saudi Arabia, and their work would last until the beginning of Ramadan. GASTAT asserted that all data are dealt with as an information base that developmental decision makers, who work in all related governmental entities, would rely on.  GASTAT spokesman, Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej said that (11317) statisticians are conducting (12) statistical research and surveys in many economic and social fields, and their works will last until the second of Ramadan. These statistical works are targeting (57350 households) and (33450 establishments) in all (13) administrative regions including all cities and governorates. The results of these works represent a base for making the related developmental decisions. On the level of statistical works that target households, GASTAT is currently conducting the households and individuals’ ICT access and usage survey 2018, the household and population characteristics survey 2018, and the labor force survey, Q2 of 2018.    On the other hand, Almofarrej clarified that the general statistics system issued by the ministers’ cabinet, all data and information provided by any citizen, resident, or establishment are kept and dealt with confidentiality. He added that the people’s cooperation with statisticians would guarantee the success of these works, and using them in supporting economic and social development accordingly.  It is worth mentioning that GASTAT is following certified international standards in choosing the sample of these works. Thus, GASTAT asks all individuals in the statistical society, either households or establishments, to cooperate with the statistician who can be identified by his official card. In addition, there is a communication center that everyone contacts on 920020081

GASTAT participates in the seventh round of OIC-StatCom The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) participates in the meetings of the seventh round of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom), which are held in Ankara- Turkey, during the period 2-3 May, 2018, corresponding 16-17 Shaaban, 1439H. On the first day of the meetings, the director- general of Methodologies and Statistical Classifications has presented in details how to use administrative records and vital statistics in the next population census which will be conducted in 2020. On the other hand, the vice president for Statistical Works has met the director- general of  Statistical, Economic, and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC),  Ambassador Musa KulaKlikaya. During their meeting, they shed light on GASTAT statistical transformation experience, and how can they reflect the experience of Saudi Arabia on other Islamic countries. Moreover, the vice president, and on behalf of all GASTAT staff, has expressed his thanks and gratitude for all the efforts exerted by the center. He assured that the authority can always provide support in different statistical fields. In the end, the center’s director-general has thanked the authority for their initiative, and expressed the center’s desire to sign a memorandum of understanding with GASTAT in the field of statistics.

New survey to be released for the first time in cooperation with the General Sports Authority, GASTAT: According to the survey of Households Sports Practice in Saudi Arabia (14.89%) of population are practicing sports for more than 150 minutes’ weekly On Tuesday 15th of Shaaban 1439H, corresponding to 1st of May 2018, GASTAT has released the results of Households Sports Practice Survey, 2017. The survey complements the surveys implemented by GASTAT in 2017. Households sports practice is one of the Saudi vision 2030 requirements. In addition, this kind of practice includes indicators that are targeted by 2030. The data of this survey allows conducting many developmental studies and plans in general, and in the sports field in particular. These studies and plans should support the development of many programs and initiatives that do increase the rate of households sports practice. The survey methodology and form must be compatible with the international standards and recommendations issued by ILO on one hand, and with the General Sports Authority needs on the other hand.   According to the survey results, the percentage of individuals (15 years and older) who are engaged in sports activities for more than 150 minutes weekly reached (14.89%). However, those who do not practice sports recorded (85.11%). Moreover, the percentage of Saudi males and females (15 years and older) who are engaged in sports activities for more than 150 minutes’ weekly registered (11.24%), (8.83%) of whom are males and (2.41%) are females. On the other hand, the percentage of non-Saudi males and females who are engaged in sports activities hit (3.65%). The results also indicated that the percentage of those who practice sports in public facilities (public place, garden…etc) is 59.04%. in contrast, those who practice sports in GYMs registered 15.11%, while those who practice it at home recorded 14.75%. Additionally, the percentage of individuals who practice sports in clubs recorded 1.63%, whereas those who practice it in other places registered only 1.19% The survey revealed that the reasons of not practicing sports among Saudi population varied. Some people have chosen not to practice it with a percentage of 50.47%, and some do not have time to practice (32.11%). However, some people do not have public facilities in their neighbourhoods (14.65%), and some have other reasons for not practicing (2.77%).   The survey aims at providing recent statistical indicators and data about households’ sports practice. In addition, it provides the reasons behind not practicing sports by kind of relationship with the household head, and classification by gender, nationality, educational status, age, marital status. Furthermore, it provides data about the percentages of individuals engaged in sports activities on at the administrative regions level.  GASTAT will work on improving the survey indicators periodically in cooperation with the General Sports Authority, in a way that supports the 2030 Saudi vision achievement.

Within the results of labor market bulletin, quarter 4, 2017 GASTAT: Saudis’ economic participation rate increased, and unemployment rate remained stable The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) releases on its official website www.stats.gov.sa  the Labor Market Bulletin for the fourth quarter of 2017, which provides comprehensive data and indicators on the Saudi labor market taken from the labor force survey conducted by the Authority on a quarterly basis, and from the administrative records of some relevant entities (Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Ministry of Civil Service, General Organization for Social Insurance, Human Resources Development Fund and National Information Center). The results of the bulletin (third quarter, 2017) showed an increase in the economic participation of Saudis (15 years and older) as it reached (41.9%) compared to (40.7%) in Quarter 3, 2017, with an increase of (1.2%). The results indicated that the economic participation of Saudi females has increased by (19.4%) compared to (17.8%), whereas, Saudi males’ participation has increased by (63.4%) compared to (62.6%) in the third quarter of 2017. However, the results demonstrated a    stability in the unemployment rate of the Saudi population for the third time, where it stabilized at (12.8%), the unemployment rate of all population (Saudis and non-Saudis) has registered (6.0%), with an increase of (0.2%) compared to the previous quarter. The results also showed a decline in the unemployment rate of Saudi with (31.0%) compared to (32.7%) in quarter 3. On the other hand, Saudi males’ unemployment rate has registered an increase by (7. 5%) compared to (7.4%) in quarter 3. Moreover, the results indicated that according to the administrative records of Saudi Arabia, there is a decline in the numbers of Saudi job seekers during the fourth quarter of 2017, as they reached (1,086,561) persons with a decline of (11.8%) compared to the third quarter of 2017. In contrast, the numbers of Saudi employed persons have increased by (3.3%) with (3,163,846) persons. The bulletin included a large number of detailed data about workers according to the regulations they are subject to, nationality, gender, age, administrative region, and educational level, as well as data about job seekers, average monthly wage, working hours and domestic workers. On the other hand, the official spokesman of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Taiseer Al-Mofarrej, clarified that when comparing the unemployment rate of total population ( Saudis and non-Saudis)  in Saudi Arabia, which registered (6%) in this quarter, with the unemployment rates of the Group of Twenty (G20), we find that Saudi Arabia is in the average rate, as ten countries among which is Saudi Arabia has registered rates ranging between (4%) and (7%). The below table shows the unemployment rates of G20: Unemployment rates in G20 Country Unemployment rate South Africa 26.7 Brazil 12.6 Italy 10.9 Turkey 10.8 France 8.9 Argentina 7.2 Canada 5.8 Saudi Arabia 6 Australia 5.5 Indonesia 5.5 Russia 5.0 South Korea 4.5 United Kingdom 4.2 United States 4.1 China 3.9 Germany 3.8 India 3.5 Mexico 3.2 Japan 2.5 Almofarrej added, the results of the labor market bulletin, Quarter 4, 2017 have showed the tendencies of jobseekers in the Saudi market, as the percentage of those who seek a government job reached 38%. It is worth mentioning that GASATAT has previously clarified the difference between job seekers and unemployed, and that unemployment rate cannot be calculated based on the number of jobseekers that is registered in the databases of other government entities.  The "unemployed" according to the Labor Force Survey are individuals (15 years and older) who were jobless during the period of the time reference (the survey period): the previous week of the household visit and have been looking for a job seriously during the four weeks prior to the household visit (they have at least taken one way to look for a job). This includes those who did not search for jobs during the four weeks prior to the household visit because they were waiting for a job or starting their own business in the coming period, where they had already been looking for work before the time reference period and at the same time they were able to work and were ready to join it (If available), during the week preceding the household visit. Additionally, jobseekers can be defined as Saudi individuals (males or females) enrolled in the job search programs of the Ministry of Civil Service (Jadarah or Saa’ed) and the Human Resources Development Fund (Hafiz), and they register their personal data, qualifications, practical experiences and CVs through an electronic system. Not to mention that job seekers in the administrative records are not subject to the internationally recognized standards and conditions of unemployment approved by the ILO, and therefore are not considered to be unemployed. Hence, not every job seeker is considered unemployed, S/he may be looking for work and is working in another job, this is the case in those who seek a government job and are working, for example, in the private sector and not registered in the records of the General Organization of Social Insurance (GOSI), as if there is a jobseeker and s/he works in the private sector and subscribed in GOSI, s/he ca not be considered within jobseekers in the labor market bulletin.

GaStat: A Decline in the Real-Estate Price Indicator During the First Quarter of 2018   On Monday, the 7th of Shaaban 1439H corresponding April 23, 2018, The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) released the report of Real Estate Price index, Q1 2018. The report is  published on GaStat official website www.stats.gov.sa.com .Furthermore, the indicator is based on the data records about real-estate’s transactions available at the Ministry of Justice, and it is an important tool to support economic and statistical decision makers regarding the changes of property prices and future forecasts during different periods of time. According to the report, the real-estate price index has recorded a decline by (1.5%) compared to the same quarter of last year (Q1, 2017). The report attributed this decline to the decrease in the main sectors composing it: the housing sector (2.0%), the commercial sector (4.4%), and the agricultural sector (0.4%).  Moreover, the indicator edged down (0.5%) compared to the previous quarter (Q4 2017) reaching (84.2%) in the first quarter of 2018 compared to (84.6%) for the previous quarter. This decline can be attributed to the main sectors composing it where they witnessed varying degrees of decline: (0.7%) for the housing sector, (0.5%) for the commercial sector and (0.1%) for the agricultural sector.  It is worth mentioning that the indicator of the Real Estate Price index, which aims at founding outstanding real-estate statistical indicators that measure the performance of Saudi real-estate market and meeting the data needs in this sector, covers three main sectors consisting of several types of real estate: housing sector which includes the following (plot of land, building, villa, apartment and house), commercial sector includes (plot of land, building, exhibition, commercial center or shop), agricultural sector with one category which is the agricultural land.

The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) is the responsible entity for building indicators of the Kingdom's sustainable development goals The kingdom concludes its participation in the 7th meeting for the participated international organizations and the experts team of the sustainable development goals’ indicators The kingdom concludes its participation in the 7th meeting for the participated international organizations and the experts team of the sustainable development goals’ indicators. This meeting was hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) between 9-13 of April to review the classifications of the sustainable development goals, discuss the implementation of the guidelines of data flow, report the global data, document the best practices in reporting the global data, and to review a number of suggestions to obtain additional indicators for the sustainable development. The president of GaStat, HE Dr.Fahad bin Sulaiman AL-Tekhaifi , who headed the Saudi delegation participating in the meetings, affirmed that Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that made significant progress in achieving the goals of the sustainable development, since that GaStat is the official entity responsible for building indicators of sustainable development in accordance with the governance of the work of statistical entities accredited to all countries to enable access to data of the index production. And that is through making a plan to collect the data of the index production whether by the implemented surveys, implementing new surveys, adding new questions to the existing surveys, or through the administrative records. in addition, identifying the government entities that produce data related to those indicators and follow-up the international and regional work of the sustainable development goals in particular and other development goals in general. HE added that GaStat has the membership of the regional committee which includes the Standing Committee for Progress Indicators and Sustainability 2030 of the GCC statistical centre. GaStat has also examined the current situation of the sustainable development goals 2030, identified its sources and availability in the Kingdom, as well as its periodicity, coverage and classification. It is worth mentioning that The United Nations General Assembly in partnership with the member countries, international organizations and civil society have identified (17) goals, (169) purposes and more than (2440 indicators for the sustainable development, and have also established the Inter-Agency Expert Group for the Indicators of Sustainable Development Goals (IAEG-SDGs) on 6 March 2015, which is composed of member countries, including regional and international agencies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by GaStat, participates in all meetings of committees and organizations related to sustainable development.

To be organized by King Khalid University on the 8th of Shaaban GaStat is stressing on the importance of the second symposium of the Saudi Association for Statistical Sciences The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) is stressing on the significant role of the academic sector as it represents one of the four main components of the Saudi statistical sector, which consists also of GaStat, and the statistical units in the public and private sectors. The vice president of statistical innovation and customer service, Dr. Mohammed Alahmed said that the second symposium of the Saudi association for statistical sciences, which will be held on 8/8/1439 H, and organized by King Khalid University under the patronage of the president of King Khalid University, Dr. Falleh bin Raja Allah Al-Solamy, entitled “ The Role of Statistics in Big Data Revolution” is one of the plans that GaStat works on to activate the role of the academic sector including the universities, faculty members, and students. In this respect, he indicated that GaStat is implementing many projects and programs in cooperation with many universities for the purpose of involving the all statistical divisions in the future plan of statistics in Saudi Arabia.  It is worth mentioning that the second symposium of the Saudi association for statistical sciences which will involve a number of scientific lectures presented by some statisticians is considered a good opportunity for all those who are interested in statistics, so they can nominate themselves to the association’s board of directors through convening a general meeting which is preceded by a number of activities.  The Saudi association for statistical sciences was established at King Khalid University in 1425 H. it was established to achieve a clear vision through which the association can participate in developing the Saudi society. This association seeks to create means of communication between those specializing in statistics through convening and organizing seminars and conferences, in addition to building statistical software and technologies, working on new statistical teaching methods, and providing consultations and applied scientific studies for the public and private sectors. It also seeks to support and promote cooperation between researchers in different fields of the statistical sciences inside and outside the Kingdom. Moreover, The Saudi association for statistical sciences seeks to apply its ambitious plan after restructuring its board of directors during the symposium. This plan is represented in holding international conferences and national seminars within the frame of its approach, which attempts to improve the scientific research in the field of statistics. The association also works on developing the statistical field and activating its role in the society. In addition, it seeks to achieve a scientific communication between its members, strengthen its relations with the universities and the other Saudi institutions, exchange the scientific production and ideas between the scientific authorities and institutions inside and outside Saudi Arabia, in addition to opening other branches of the association in some Saudi universities.

To build detailed indicators that observe woman’s participation in development GaStat and KSU Establish National Observatory for Woman's Participation in Development (NOW) GaStat has signed a memorandum of understanding with King Saud University KSU as part of its policy to meet the needs of customers in the public and private sectors and to establish effective partnerships with all relevant parties, and as part of its attempts to provide innovative statistical products in accordance with international standards; in addition to its efforts to develop the necessary indicators for future and current needs. Moreover, the signing was within the agenda of the first conference of the National Observatory for Women (NOW) titled "The role of women in development towards a thriving economy" which will end on Thursday 19 of Rajab 1439H. The conference aims to evaluate and enhance the role of women in development as well as identifying detailed indicators for their participation in the development fields. The memorandum was signed by GaStat and KSU with the presence of HE the Minister of Labor and Social Development. It seeks to a cooperation with the Authority within the scope of work of “NOW”; specifically, in building detailed indicators to observe those participations. It also aims to update the indicators periodically, prepare and implement statistical studies to support and improve woman’s participation in development. The memorandum also calls for unifying the efforts and data sources as well as maintaining the security and privacy of data; delivering them to decision makers and beneficiaries based on agreed standards. Additionally, the memorandum requires cooperation and integration between GaStat and NOW to provide electronic services through data exchange to serve the public interest and that is within the authorities of GaStat and NOW. As a result, GaStat will provide NOW with the related statistical data to build the indicators of woman’s participation in development especially that increasing the woman’s participation is one of the objectives of the Kingdom’s vision 2030. The memorandum also indicates the cooperation between GaStat and NOW to exchange data as well as economic and development statistical indicators that support the work of NOW through (GSN). On the other hand, the president of GaStat Dr.Fahad bin Sulaiman AL-Tekhaifi confirmed that signing the memorandum of understanding with KSU comes within the framework of GaStat to achieve the statistical transformation in the Kingdom and he also stressed on the importance of the partnership of the academic sector with government entities. Moreover, his excellency explained that NOW has appeared along with the transformations witnessed by the national economy from restructuring and building economic base that relies on diversity and optimal utilization of the great potentials of Saudi woman. Dr.AL-Tekhaifi indicated that government entities are living in an exceptional stage of support  with the availability of participatory tools for the development journey, and that NOW will deeply analyze the statistics related to woman’s participation in development in all its areas to support policy and decision makers.

According to the population characteristics survey, July 2017 GaStat: Population annual growth rate in Saudi Arabia is 2.52%   The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) indicated that during the previous period, the authority has conducted a set of population statistics surveys, last of which was the population characteristics survey which has been implemented on the field during the period from 17/7/1438 H to 22/8/1438 H corresponding 14/4/2017 to 18/5/2017.     GaStat spokesman, Taiseer Almufarrij said that according to the population characteristics survey2017, the number of Saudi Arabia’s population is (32552336) compared to (31742038)    which is the number registered in the demographic survey 2016, with a growth rate of (2.52%). The population are distributed by gender (57.48%) males, and (42.52%) females in 2017 (1438H).  those percentages are similar to the percentages of 2016’s survey where males registered (57.44%) and females registered (42.56%). According to 2016 survey results, the number of Saudi population was estimated at (20,064,970) with an increase of (343.392) persons. However, Saudi population are distributed by gender with (50.95%) males and (49.06%) females in 2017 (1438H). those percentages are similar to the percentages of 2016’s survey where males registered (50.96%) and females registered (49.04%).  Almufarrij added that the survey contained households’ data including the marital status, educational status, demographic structure of Saudi and non-Saudi population on the level of Saudi administrative regions. Through the survey, many indicators were extracted such as mortality rate, population’ age and gender structure, and levels of marriage and divorce.  On the other hand, GaStat has started working with specialists and experts from some governmental entities and followed a number of steps in preparation for 2020-1441 H census. The data of this census includes demographic, economic, and educational characteristics of population, dwelling characteristics that are represented in the geographical and distinct data, and dwelling housing characteristics.

Shura Council confirms that it agrees with the transformation program of the statistical sector The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat): Shura's Comments about the Annual Report Are of Our Concern GaStat thanked the Chairman of the Shura Council and all the members for their comments and suggestions about the work of the Authority at its twenty-fifth meeting of the second year of the seventh session, in which the Council discussed the annual report of GaStat for the fiscal year 1437/1438. The official spokesman of the Authority, Mr. Tayseer Al-Mufrraj, said that GaStat is committed to consider the comments to deepen the positive impact in the development of the statistical sector in the Kingdom and to lead the statistical work. He stressed that the comments made by the members of the Shura Council are in line with the transformation program of the statistical sector carried out by the Authority.

It links data to a geographical location to analyze and extract reports GaStat Launches an “Interactive Map" to Present Statistical Data for the Services in Saudi Arabia As part of its efforts to support decision makers and policy makers and enable their customers to use statistical data and access them based on their needs, GaStat  has launched the "Interactive Map" on its official website www.stats.gov.sa  for the Services Guide that was recently released by the Authority, which is the unified reference for the services available in different regions of the Kingdom’s cities and villages. The interactive map is a technical tool that reviews statistical data by linking the statistical data to the geographical location to show the spread of the services on an interactive map for the Kingdom. This will add extra features and enable the user to make logical questions as well as spatial analysis on the services database. It also enables the user to reach the statistical data of the geographical location clearly for the different distribution of the services at the Kingdom’s level. Moreover, the interactive map provides basic data for planners, policy makers and decision makers based on the names in the administrative regions. It depends on the data classification in five major groups that include: health services, education services, higher education services, public services, statistical reports of services. The map can review the details of each service according to the service provider, which allows the user to perform a search by specifying the names that contain a specific service within a specific search, or to identify the nearest populated area on the map. It also displays the distribution of services according to the type of service or the administrative areas. Additionally, it includes a "service calculator" which is a tool for making logical queries on the database. The “services calculator” enables a logical search of all the elements of the database and it reviews the results on the map to understand the form of geomagnetic distributions of any search and the possibility to extract the results on an Excel file. The interactive map provides the totals, components and distributions of the services in Saudi Arabia at the level of its administrative regions, illustrated by graphs and geographical maps. It also offers an application designed to release statistical reports for various services at the level of the administrative region, governorate, municipality or populated area based on the needs of the user and with the possibility to print a report for the search results.

Including Aseer Region, Al baha, Jazan and Najran The General Authority for Statistics Starts the Second Phase of Updating the Guidebook for the Populated Areas, in Preparation for the 2020 Population Census In preparation for the population and houses census project (2020- 1441 AH) GaStat started to work according to a series of steps and in coordination with a number of government agencies on the technical arrangements of the implementation “for updating the populated areas guidebook”. It is considered the first field steps proceeding the census 2020 project. These steps are according to a timetable that includes all the stages of updating the guidebook for the populated names for different regions of the Kingdom and it includes: Aseer Region, Al baha Region, Jazan Region and Najran Region. In addition, there will be a number of stages that covers all the Kingdom regions during this year 2018. This project aims to update the guidebook for the populated areas in the field and to process its data by observing all the changes occurred in the guidebook. Moreover, during the updating process, the number of dwellings and establishments in the populated areas are considered and distributed to statistical work areas, also linking the populated areas to the national address, identifying the populated areas on maps and making any necessary divisions.  As well as counting the rugged areas, Badia areas and areas requiring prior coordination. On the other hand, the General authority for statistics (GaStat) has recently held the first specialized workshops to discuss the census form (2020) within a series of workshops related to the form. And that was with the participation of some experts and specialists from the GaStat, and a number of relevant government agencies. The project of population and housing census (2020- 1441 AH) aims to collect and publish the demographic, social and economic data of the population to provide the requirements of the government of basic data on population and housing to build the development plans, also the needs of researchers and planners, and to provide a new framework for all of the specialized statistical researches that are conducted based on the sample method. Additionally, finding a broad base of data and using it as a reliable source to conduct studies and researches required by the development programs, providing the data and indicators of population periodically to measure the population characteristics changes over the time, making local, regional and international comparisons, and to review, evaluate the population estimates in the future.

With Participation of Ektefaa Charity Association in Jeddah GaStat Tends to Activate the Role of ‘’Women’’ in the Statistical Fieldwork GaStat tends to strengthen the statistical fieldwork with trained field staff of female statisticians in various regions of the Kingdom in order to facilitate the way of providing information to families without a male head, emphasizing the role of women as one of the active forces in the statistical sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Where the official spokesman of GaStat, Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej, confirmed that GaStat has completed the preparation of training programs for female statisticians and field work experience.       GaStat cooperated with Ektefaa women's charity association in Jeddah to supervise the process of statisticians’ qualifying and training and to participate in the household related surveys in Jeddah, Riyadh, Hofuf, and Jazan as they have previously worked in this filed. The women’ fieldwork experience is considered one of the programs that prepares them for 2020 population census and other statistical surveys. Almofarrej added that this opportunity will contribute in facilitating data collection from families headed by a woman. Moreover, it will contribute in opening up new areas of women work and increase the women's participation in development to achieve the vision of KSA.          In addition to Ektefaa Association in Jeddah, which supervised the program, it is worth mentioning that a number of associations have participated in this experience, including (Ensan) charity committee for orphans Care in Riyadh, Al-bir society in Al-Ahsa, and Al-bir society in Jazan. Ektefaa Charity association, which is one of the specialized charities in the field of surveying and information collecting and documenting, has provided GaStat with a study on their previous experience on conducting a field survey. The study clarifies the importance of females’ engagement in the implementation of field surveys concerning household affairs. GaStat will evaluate this experience and sit a road map to activate the role of women in the field works that target households.

In order to develop the statistical sector and to follow up sustainable development goals Saudi Arabia Ends its Participation in the Works of the United Nations Statistical Commission (49th Round)   Saudi Arabia Ends its Participation in the Works of the United Nations Statistical Commission (49th Round). It started last Tuesday until yesterday evening at the United Nations headquarters which is in New York City . In addition, the delegation headed by his Excellency Dr. Fahad bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi, president of the General Authority for Statistics. He indicated that the participation was an extension of the authority strategy for international participation. Also, to benefit from the best statistical practices because it reflected on the development of the statistical sector in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, he added that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia reviewed number of development axes for the statistical sector. During the works of 49th round, there was several presentations and interventions from co-sponsor delegation over four days. AL-Tekhaifi showed the statistical transformative experience was one of the axes where the authority addressed the road map and the dimensions on which it relied. Which is focusing on the importance of the client, quality and the development of the statistical sector. He mentioned that the KSA experience concerned the participants, and the progress of the statistical surveys reflect the affectivity and the importance of the listening to the clients from government entities and data users. Where the average of the surveys perversely were not over than eleven surveys in one year, but now in 2017 there are more than forty-two field surveys. In order to meet the requirements of the government entities and data users accordance with the regional and international requirements. At the level of the international statistical classification, the president of authority indicated that the authority focused on developed the statistical sector in KSA in several trends, Such as unified the use of international statistical classifications in the statistical surveys and administrative registers of ministries, government entities and privet sectors. Moreover, its first steps were unified the use of international industrial classification for economic activities in administrative registers (ISIC4), for all sectors and entities in the country. While, sector workshops were hold and meet bilaterally to define and to raise awareness of the classification. Also, to explain the mechanism of the application, and the importance of the study of the technical fields for all entities that related to. In order to ensure the access to the identical results based on one axis for the guide. Furthermore, the authority will continued the same approach for the rest of international classifications. Where, the same approach of national classification of occupation is applied recently (ISCO-08). The work of (49) round dealt with the household surveys, while authority confirmed that the household surveys is an important and main source for the different social statistics. That's because they are an active element for all the statistical systems, which based on provide several social indicators. It also considers as an important element to provide the related data of monitor progress in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development, under multitude requirements and challenges which faced by the available data.  GaStat Have focused on conducting a share amount of survey on household in that matter. In 2017 Among all the Surveys 17 of them was a household survey, and planning on doing 20 Household survey this year. The Authority is paying a great importance in register data, and has launched a numerous number of partnerships, initiatives and projects to link all the concerned institutions in the direction to come up with data that provides a lot of statistical indicators, also reducing the need for field survey. United Nation Statistical Commission agenda included a number of topics, surrounding the open data. The participant delegators have indicated a number of steps taken by The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on activating the Open data, to establish a high-level national committee for open data, at a ministerial level, led by The General Authority of Statics. To supervise the work regarding open data in Saudi Arabia, and strengthening coordination and partnership between the parties concerned. In addition to that, the project of Saudi Statistical Portal, which the authority is working on with a number of governmental institution, that offers statistical information’s in an up-to-date and easy-to-use way. Also, applying the best technical tools to access the information quicker and better, and applying the standards of data disaggregation as an open data, by international standards. As well as developing the digital content of the portal (e-content). And Increasing the level of e-reediness, In addition, further development of legislative and regulatory framework. The portal wouldn’t be only for the Authority, it would allow the all the institution, Authority’s and Government Institutions, to display their statistics in the same modern way, and working on strengthening the content with open data. The portal will support the social participation; it will allow visitors to publish their articles. The delegators have declared that this project consist of processing the basic data of GaStat, in addition to the other governmental data and the privet sector, to serve as convertible data which could be interactive graphics. GaStat has represented Saudi Arabia in this field lately as a member of the International Labour Organization of Big data and Official States-UN, whose membership includes 22 countries and 9 international authorities’. On the other hand, GaStat have presented, through their participation, about their current experience in National Statistical Data(MASDAR) for conducting data and statistical indicators from the concerned authorities, and work with them to provide, publish and exchange data and national statistical indicators through Databases and specify electronic portals. Which support making decision in Saudi Arabia, also it’s a solid Informational bank to support Saudi Arabia 2030 Vision and National Transformation Programme 2020. GaStat have declared through the presentation that the goal of this programme is to build a comprehensive national statistical database which have all the statistical data from all the inner and outer sources to produce tabulations, indicators and analysis where the users and analysts need those data in or out of the Authority for statistical references to support decision, and making all of the development plans. On the margins of the round the participant Saudi delegates met with a number of statistical commissions relevant to housing, social and economic statistics, as well as the South Korean delegates to discuss the road map of reinstate the agreement between the two countries. It started at the United Nations headquarters which is in New York City, on the last Tuesday until yesterday evening. In addition, the delegation headed by his Excellency Fahad Ibn Sliman AL-Tekhaifi who is the president of the general authority for statistics. He indicated that the participation was an extension of the authority strategy for international participation. Also, to benefit from the best statistical practices because it reflected on the development of the statistical sector in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, he added that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia reviewed number of development axes for the statistical sector. During the work of (49) round there was several presentations and interventions from co-sponsor delegation over four days. AL-Tekhaifi showed the statistical transformative experience was one of the axes where the authority addressed the road map and the dimensions on which it relied. Which is focusing on the importance of the client, quality and the development of the statistical sector. He mentioned that the KSA experience concerned the participants, and the progress of the statistical surveys reflect the affectivity and the importance of the listening to the clients from government entities and data users. Where the average of the surveys perversely were not over than eleven surveys in one year, but now in 2017 there are more than forty-two field surveys. In order to meet the requirements of the government entities and data users accordance with the regional and international requirements. At the level of the international statistical classification, the president of authority indicated that the authority focused on developed the statistical sector in KSA in several trends, Such as unified the use of international statistical classifications in the statistical surveys and administrative registers of ministries, government entities and privet sectors. Moreover, its first steps were unified the use of international industrial classification for economic activities in administrative registers (ISIC4), for all sectors and entities in the country. While, sector workshops were hold and meet bilaterally to define and to raise awareness of the classification. Also, to explain the mechanism of the application, and the importance of the study of the technical fields for all entities that related to. In order to ensure the access to the identical results based on one axis for the guide. Furthermore, the authority will continued the same approach for the rest of international classifications. Where, the same approach of national classification of occupation is applied recently (ISCO-08). The work of (49) round dealt with the household surveys, while authority confirmed that the household surveys is an important and main source for the different social statistics. That's because they are an active element for all the statistical systems, which based on provide several social indicators. It also considers as an important element to provide the related data of monitor progress in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development, under multitude requirements and challenges which faced by the available data. GaStat Have focused on conducting a share amount of survey on household in that matter. In 2017 Among all the Surveys 17 of them was a household survey, and planning on doing 20 Household survey this year. The Authority is paying a great importance in register data, and has launched a numerous number of partnerships, initiatives and projects to link all the concerned institutions in the direction to come up with data that provides a lot of statistical indicators, also reducing the need for field survey. United Nation Statistical Commission agenda included a number of topics, surrounding the open data. The participant delegators have indicated a number of steps taken by The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on activating the Open data, to establish a high-level national committee for open data, at a ministerial level, led by The General Authority of Statics. To supervise the work regarding open data in Saudi Arabia, and strengthening coordination and partnership between the parties concerned. In addition to that, the project of Saudi Statistical Portal, which the authority is working on with a number of governmental institution, that offers statistical information’s in an up-to-date and easy-to-use way. Also, applying the best technical tools to access the information quicker and better, and applying the standards of data disaggregation as an open data, by international standards. As well as developing the digital content of the portal (e-content). And Increasing the level of e-reediness, In addition, further development of legislative and regulatory framework. The portal wouldn’t be only for the Authority, it would allow the all the institution, Authority’s and Government Institutions, to display their statistics in the same modern way, and working on strengthening the content with open data. The portal will support the social participation; it will allow visitors to publish their articles. The delegators have declared that this project consist of processing the basic data of GaStat, in addition to the other governmental data and the privet sector, to serve as convertible data which could be interactive graphics. GaStat has represented Saudi Arabia in this field lately as a member of the International Labour Organization of Big data and Official States-UN, whose membership includes 22 countries and 9 international authorities’. On the other hand, GaStat have presented, through their participation, about their current experience in National Statistical Data(MASDAR) for conducting data and statistical indicators from the concerned authorities, and work with them to provide, publish and exchange data and national statistical indicators through Databases and specify electronic portals. Which support making decision in Saudi Arabia, also it’s a solid Informational bank to support Saudi Arabia 2030 Vision and National Transformation Programme 2020. GaStat have declared through the presentation that the goal of this programme is to build a comprehensive national statistical database which have all the statistical data from all the inner and outer sources to produce tabulations, indicators and analysis where the users and analysts need those data in or out of the Authority for statistical references to support decision, and making all of the development plans. On the margins of the round the participant Saudi delegates met with a number of statistical commissions relevant to housing, social and economic statistics, as well as the South Korean delegates to discuss the road map of reinstate the agreement between the two countries.

Aiming to raise statistical awareness among students by using a scientific and attractive way GaStat starts receiving students in “ The smart statistitician” exhibition in cooperation with “Scitech” Khobar As part of its plan to raise statistical awareness among all society categories including school students, GaStat organizes the exhibition of “ The smart statistitician” in cooperation with Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Centre for Science and Technology “ Scitech” in Al Khobar city. The exhibition events are held in the centre during the period 9-20 Jumada the second 1439 H corresponding 25th of February- 8th of March 2018.  The exhibition which targets the students of intermediate schools, aims at showing how important is statistics in the life of students by using a scientific and attractive way. It also aims at identifying the most distinct concepts associated with statistics, in addition to raising the level of statistical awareness among students. Furthermore, this exhibition enhances the students’ recognition of the role of statistical entities and field statisticians, and the role of provided data accuracy on development as students are considered effective tools in conveying what they learn to their households.  The exhibition starts receiving the students by a demo video, so the students can get new scientific information in an attractive and entertaining way. The video will introduce statistics, the difference between statistics and mathematics, the General Authority for Statistics’ role, the role of students and households in GaStat work, and the way statistical research are implemented by simulating this experience and making students act like statisticians in their household visits.  The exhibition, which opens at 9 AM and closes at 1 PM (week days), includes many competitions such as the competition of the regions and numbers which aims at providing information about the population numbers in each region. There is also the competition of statistical symbols which teaches students about the importance of population and housing census and all statistical surveys in general.

General Authority for Statistics Releases the Sixteenth “Services Guide 2017” and View Its Results in an Interactive Map on Its Website More than 5,800 tables covering the information of more than 16,000 populated areas General Authority for Statistics issues the sixteenth “Services Guide 2017” and view its results in an interactive map on its website On Monday 10/6/1439H - 26/2/2018, GaStat issued the sixteenth Services Guide of cities and villages’ statistics on its official website. This guide is considered an official unified reference for all services of governmental and private entities in the different Saudi regions with all their cities and villages. The guides of the thirteen regions contain data and information for 16.263 populated areas (city – village), including geographical information and data, educational and health serveries, and data related to the availability of administrative, social, and agricultural services as well as public services. This guide contains (5810) detailed tables.  Moreover, this guide, which was prepared by 27 entities, is one of the most important statistical references for the data of cities and villages. It is issued by GaStat every three years in order to provide a unified and official reliable data and information at a high level of accuracy. These data and information are about all available services of cities and villages. So that it can be a unified reference for all government ministries, institution and organization, researchers, students, and media. The guide of each administrative region includes geographical data and information on the level of populated areas (city, village) and their services such as the services of public and privet education with their three stages, Quranic schools services, higher education services, technical, industrial, agricultural, and health education services, scientific, vocational, and commercial institutes services, institutes for persons with disabilities services, elderly and kindergarten schools services.  Furthermore, there are other services such as health services which include hospitals, health-care centers, public and privet clinics, Saudi Arabian red crescent services, data of administrative centers (governorate, municipality), traffic, police, and civil defense centers, departments of civil affairs, passport, Awqaf (religious affairs department), labor offices, committee for the propagation of virtue and prohibition of vice, writings of justice, courts, municipalities, social security offices, social development centers, ministry of agriculture and its brunches,  agricultural development funds, real estate’s  development fund, industrial development fund, lending bank, and the branches of ministries and authorities .In addition to the public services which include electricity, water, telecommunications, post offices, travel and tourism agencies, and banking services. GaStat declared today that the data reference year is the fiscal year of 1436 H/1437 H (2016). However, the public education services guide results show that the total number of public and private primary schools in all thirteen regions is (14.688) schools, with (1.457.326) male students and (1.469.797) female Students.  As for the intermediate schools, the total number in all thirteen regions is (8.607) schools, with (694.612) male students and (657.043) female students. Whereas the total number of public and private high schools in all thirteen regions is (5.713) schools, with (647.292) male students and (633.821) female students. The results of the services guide also show that there are (39) public and private universities in all thirteen regions of Saudi Arabia iincluding (688.644) male students, (752.356) female students, (41.954) male faculty members, and (34.037) female faculty members. However, the number of public and private colleges at the regional level has reached (112) colleges, (119,251) male students, (35,233) female students, (6,588) male faculty members, and (2,250) female lecturers.       According to the results of the guide of the health services, the total number of private and public hospitals has reached (469) hospitals, with (69.450) beds. Whereas the total number of government’s health care centers and private clinics has reached (4.808) centers in the Kingdom. Moreover, the total number of doctors in all government and private hospitals, government’s health care centers, and private clinics has reached (53.230) males and (25.917) females. Furthermore, the number of nursing staff has reached (30.849) males, and (131.896) females in the Kingdom. As for the total number of Red Crescent and Ambulance Centers, it has reached (397), with (4.850) paramedics, and (871) ambulance cars. On the other hand, GaStat through its official website provides data of Services Guide through interactive map to keep up with the latest technology in the statistical field with a set of tools, functions, methods of research and logical analyses on the databases. As well as use Geographic Information Systems techniques in linking the statistical statement with the geographical coordinates of the site on the map to benefit from the spatial dimension as an element of the statistical statement in different searches and analyzes processes. It's worth noting that the Guide of Government Services Statistics for cities and villages of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia released every three years based on the royal decree no. 3/w/26301 of 30/11/1401H states that the GaStat must arrange to release the Services Guide in cities and villages of the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia which contributes to the processes of planning and establishing future visions for development services to benefit the citizens in all Kingdom’s regions.

The Prince of the Eastern Province, Prince Ahmad Bin Fahad Values the Role of GaStat in Providing Updated Data and Statistics to All Government Entities His Royal Highness the deputy prince of Eastern Province, prince Ahmad bin Fahad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz welcomed his excellency the President of the General Authority for Statistics, Dr. Fahad bin Salman Altukhifi and his delegation at his office in the principality court today Sunday. His Highness reviewed the latest data of the Eastern Province within the Services Guide 2017, released by the Authority through its website. Additionally, he stressed that this high-level movement comes from the support and follow- up by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, may Allah protect them. Furthermore, it aims to push forward the Comprehensive Economic Development, as well as it spurs all government bodies including GaStat to work positively with the requirements of the stage. Also, he appreciated the role of GaStat in providing updated data and statistics to all government entities that support decision and policy makers. His excellency the President of GaStat, Dr. Fahad Altukhifi clarified that the Eastern Region is witnessing a development on various levels led by his Highness the prince of the province and his deputy that lead us to follow these steps in the General Authority for Statistics, reflecting the numbers which are important indicators for the development across all governorates and regions. Moreover, he pointed out that the Services Guide 2017 published by the Authority through its website, includes statistics of services for the kingdom’s cities and villages. As well as it considers a unified official reference to the services of all governmental and non-governmental bodies available at different regions of the kingdom at the level of its cities and villages. Where it contributes to the processes of planning and establishing future visions for development services to benefit the citizens in all kingdom’s regions. The Guide, in which 27 governmental entities contributed to its preparation to be as a source of information for data, aims to provide geographic database for each populated area that has an accredited service, database on educational services, health services, social and development services, beside public services, administrative services, financial and banking services, as well as providing database for the most important service facilities at the level of kingdom’s regions.

50 Students Participate at the General Authority for Statistics “Cooperative Training Program" this semester The General Authority for Statistics has implemented the “cooperative training program’’ with the participation of 50 students from educational institutions during this semester for many majors including economics, statistics, accounting, media, mathematics, information technology, administration and law. The program provides the trainees with the opportunity to apply for a number of academic courses that students have taken within their educational institutions in the labor market. within a period of time to be counted in the academic graduation program. The training program, which runs from hours to four months, aims to help students gain the practical skills and efficiency in their fields of study in their university, allowing them to develop many of their practical experiences that may differ in nature from those gain over during periods of study. The training period helps colleges and universities to evaluate the academic preparation of their students through the report of their Cooperative Training Program, statements and job evaluation reports given by the direct supervisor to the trainee at the General Authority for Statistics. The "Cooperative Training" program aims to attract outstanding students from the newly graduated for the General Authority for Statistics. The program also aims to strengthen the relations between the General Authority for Statistics and the educational institutions in the public and private sectors. The General Authority for Statistics aims to do a couple of programs and projects to activate the academic sector considering it one of the four basic components of the statistical sector besides the Authority and the statistical units in government agencies and the private sector. These programs goal is to participate with fields that are related to the statistical work and the future plan for statistics in the kingdom and its transformation program. And also to cooperate with universities to evaluate or develop the products of the statistical work. The Authority has given a couple of programs to the Saudi universities during the last period.

After joining the program of international comparisons and experts of tourism satellite accounts, and to confirm its role in the international statistics map “Saudi Statistics” is a member in the Global Work Group on big data for official statistics After being a board member in the international comparison program and the international experts team for developing tourism satellite accounts 2017, Saudi Arabia, represented in the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat), has become a member in the Global Work Group (GWG) on big data for official statistics which pertains to the United Nations. This group includes 22 countries and 9 international authorities. Saudi Arabia has decided to be a member in this group to reflect the positive role of GaStat in the UN different statistical programs. It also wants to show its progress in the field of big data. GaStat is represented in this group by three statistical and technical leaders who are considered experts in big data; dr. Mohammed Alahmed, vice president of statistical innovation and customer service, Mr. Khalid Aldalqan, deputy of information technology, and Dr. Aseel Almansour, director-general of statistical innovation department. Dr. Fahad bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi, GaStat president, asserted that Saudi Arabia has decided to be a member in the global work group on big data for official statistics to confirm the effective role of Saudi Arabia in the international statistics map. This membership will reflect the results of the Saudi statistical sector’s strategic transformation which Saudi Arabia is really concerned about and support for its role in enhancing the national development decisions. He added, joining this group will enhance the role of Saudi Arabia in the field of big data internationally. The participation of GaStat in this group is represented through capacity building and raising awareness about the importance of big data, in addition to joining the global platform for data, services, and applications. Altekhaifi indicated that the participation of those three national leaders among an elite of worldwide data and statistics experts under the umbrella of the United Nations Statistical Commission is considered an opportunity to benefit from the group works’ outputs. It will contribute in developing the use of big data in Saudi Arabia as these data are one of the very important recent sources of information, in addition to the field surveys and register data. Moreover, it will have an essential role in addressing issues pertaining to methodology, quality, technology, data access, legislation, privacy, and management. It will also pave the way for collaborations with the most distinct statistical organizations such as the international institutions, data producers, and big data experts. This might increase the quality of statistical products provided by GaStat to support decision and policy makers. Furthermore, the group works and results will collaborate in raising the level of information exchange about the big data projects in the statistical community. It is worth mentioning that the creation of the Global Working Group (GWG) on Big Data for Official Statistics was agreed at the 45th session of the UN statistical commission which was held last November. The group work aims at investigating the benefits and challenges of Big Data, including the potential for monitoring and reporting on the sustainable development goals. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the Global Work Group includes 21 representatives and some international organizations: Eurostat, GCC-Stat, ITU, OECD, UNECE, UNESCAP, UNSD, UN Global Pulse, World Bank

The Indicator Covers Three Main Sectors (Housing, Commercial, Agricultural) GaStat Releases Real-Estate Prices Index for the 4th Quarter 2017 The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) released on Sunday, 11 Jumada Al-Awal 1439H corresponding to January 28, 2018, its quarterly indicator for the General Index of the Real Estate Prices Q4  2017 in Saudi Arabia and published it on its official website www.stats.gov.sa.com . Furthermore, the indicator is based on the data records about real-estate’s transactions available at the Ministry of Justice, and it is an important tool to support economic and statistical decision makers regarding the changes of property prices and future forecasts during different periods of time. The indicator covers three main sectors consisting of several types of real estate: housing sector which includes the followings (plot of land, building, villa, apartment and house), commercial sector includes (plot of land, building, exhibition, commercial center or shop), agricultural sector with one category which is the agricultural land. On the other hand, the indicator recorded a decline amounted to (3.2%) compared to the same quarter last year (Q4 2016). The indicator attributed this decline to the decrease of the main sectors composing it: the housing sector (2.2%), the commercial sector (5.7%) and the agricultural sector (0.6%). Moreover, the indicator edged down (0.3%) compared to the previous quarter (Q3 2017) reaching (84.6%) in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to (84.9%) for the previous quarter. This decline is attributable to the main sectors composing it where they witnessed varying degrees of decline: (0.2%) for the housing sector, (0.7%) for the commercial sector and (0.1%) for the agricultural sector. It is worth mentioning that the release of the Index of Real Estate Prices for Q4 2017 came along with the introductory meeting of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this meeting was within the Authority's plan to raise the statistical awareness of all its customers in which a number of meetings were held previously to discuss Real Estate Price Index in Riyadh and Dammam last year.

It Shows the Housing Characteristics of Dwellings Occupied with Saudi Households Housing Survey 2017 Findings Now Released by GaStat The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) released on Thursday, 8 Jumada Al-Awal 1439H (25 January 2018)  the findings of the Housing Survey 2017, through its official website www.stats.gov.sa.com. This survey was implemented during the period (17/7 - 22/8) / 1438H) corresponding to (14/4 - 18/5/2017). Furthermore, it was prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Housing and it shows the housing characteristics of dwellings occupied with Saudi households. On other hand, Housing Surveys are one of the most important data sources necessary for development planning in the economic and social fields in general and for housing initiatives in particular, both at the national and local levels. Moreover, Housing Surveys aim to: provide data about the dwellings occupied with households at the administrative level of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, study the influence of the surrounding environment and the housing characteristics, create database for housing in order to provide the requirements of the government and the needs of the planners and researchers from the main data about the housing characteristics required by the development plans, provide data and indicators on housing periodically to measure changes in housing characteristics over time and to make local, regional and international comparisons and measure the improvements and the growth in the housing fields by type of dwelling, age of dwelling occupied with the household. In addition, (owned) dwellings and occupied with Saudi households amounted to (49.91%) according to the Housing Survey 2017 findings. (Owned) dwellings that were built by using non-reinforced concreate (clay, stone, bricks, slabs) are excluded from this, in which their rate recorded a decrease down from (13.38%) in 2016 to nearly (10%) in 2017.  Furthermore, (rented) dwellings and occupied with Saudi households represent (38%), and (1.69%) for dwellings provided by employer. It is worth mentioning that findings of this survey did not show the individuals’ ownership of dwellings rate but it discusses the housing characteristics such as: type of tenure of the household’s dwelling included in the field survey. Additionally, villas occupied with Saudi households accounted for (29.44%) of the total number of dwellings occupied with Saudi households, the percentage of apartments occupied with Saudi households was (43.67%) and (7.73%) was for floors in villas occupied with Saudi households. On the other hand, the findings showed that the predominant material used in the construction of dwellings occupied with Saudi households was the reinforced concreate by (87.95%). Dwellings occupied with Saudi households, in which (brick) was used in its construction accounted for (11.88%). In terms of household energy, the findings showed that the percentage of dwellings occupied with Saudi households that depend on the public water network as a source of water recorded (74.28%) of the total number of dwellings occupied with Saudi households, and (99.8%) of dwellings depend on the electricity public network as its main source. In addition, (7.88%) was for dwellings occupied with Saudi households for less than (5) years, (25.38%) was for dwellings occupied with Saudi households between (5 and less than 10 years), and dwellings occupied with Saudi households between (10 to 20 years) accounted for (30.09%). Moreover, GaStat indicate that census surveys conducted every ten years depend on the comprehensive inventory of all dwellings. However, housing surveys depend on the sampling method of selected households chosen in a scientific manner. The survey form includes accurate details to support housing initiatives in which it allows the possibility of studying housing characteristics in a more comprehensive and detailed manner. The findings reveal the housing characteristics of the dwellings occupied with Saudi households at the administrative regions of the Kingdom. Many indicators can be extracted through this survey, such as: dwelling type, approximate age of the dwelling, building material, flooring material, type of possession, source of water, drinking water, source of electricity for the dwelling and other housing indicators related to the dwelling.

A specialized survey, measuring the spread of disability, contains all disability statistics details GaStat: (2.9%) of Saudi population have disability with (extreme) difficulty To get real statistical indicators that reflect the disability spread rates in Saudi and the disability categories in terms of difficulty degrees and spread among society people to be a reference for developing policies, making decisions, providing proper services for persons with disability, and fulfilling the needs of planners, researchers, and those who are interested in disability studies,  the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) has issued a report containing the results of “ persons with disability survey 2017”. When defining disability and classifying its difficulty degrees, GaStat has relied on the elaborated definition of Washington Group on Disability Statistics which contains all difficulty degrees of disability: mild, severe, and extreme. The survey results indicated that (2.9%) of Saudi population have disability with extreme difficulty.     According to the survey results, Riyadh region has registered a disability rate of (25.13%) which is the highest rate of disabled persons compared to the other Saudi regions. However, Najran region registered the lowest rate of disability with (0.87%). The survey results have also showed that the most spread difficulty among disabled Saudi population who only have one difficulty is the visual impairment. Persons with disability who suffer from visual impairment have registered (46.02%) among all Saudi disabled population with different degrees: mild (67.8%), severe (28.5%), and extreme (3.7%). As for the most spread difficulties among Saudi disabled population who suffer from multiple difficulties, physical difficulties have registered the highest rate with (29.13%) with different degrees: mild (54.07%), severe (29.22%), and extreme (16.71%).     It is worth mentioning that persons with disability survey includes many tables that are already published on the website. More than 40 detailed tables that include a large number of statistical data such as disability rates with its different degrees and categories, disabled population structure regarding their age and type, educational status, and occupational status.

Within the Results of the Labor Market Bulletin for the Third Quarter of 2017 The General Authority for Statistics: Stability in the Unemployment Rate of the Saudi Population at (12.8%) and a Decline in the Total Unemployment Rate to Reach (5.8%) The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) published on its official website www.stats.gov.sa  the Labor Market Bulletin for the third quarter of 2017, which provides comprehensive data and indicators on the labor market in the Kingdom from the estimates of the labor force survey conducted by the Authority on a quarterly basis, in addition to the labor market data from the administrative records of the relevant entities (Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Ministry of Civil Service, General Organization for Social Insurance, Human Resources Development Fund and National Information Center). The results of the bulletin for the third quarter of 2017 showed stability in the unemployment rate of the Saudi population at its previous level during the second quarter of 2017, where it stabilized at (12.8%), (7.4%) for males and (32.7%) for females, and a decline in the total unemployment rate (15 years and above) compared to the second quarter of 2017, where it reached (5.8%) in this quarter (3.2%) for males and (21.1%) for females. The total number of workers from the data of administrative records in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reached (13,758,064) indivisuals, the total number of Saudis jobseekrs from the records of administrative reached (1,231,549) individuals, (190,822) are males and (1,040,727) are females. The highest percentage of Saudis jobseekers in the age group (25-29) was represented by 31.3%. Moreover, the results showed that nearly half of the Saudi jobseekers hold Bachelor degrees and their percentages reached (45.8%). According to the administrative records of the relevant entities, the total number of work visas issued reached 509,180. (22.3%) for the public sector, (37.8%) for the domestic sector and (39.9%) for the private sector. The bulletin included a large number of detailed data on workers according to the regulations they are subject to, and according to the nationality, gender, age, administrative region and educational level, as well as data on job seekers, average monthly wage, working hours and domestic workers. On the other hand, the official spokesman of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Mr.Tayseer Al-Mafarj, clarified that there is a difference between job seekers and unemployed. The "unemployed" according to the Labor Force Survey are the individuals (15 years and above) who were jobless during the period of the time reference (the survey period): the previous week of the household visit and have been looking for a job seriously during the four weeks prior to the household visit (they have at least taken one way to look for a job). This includes those who did not search for work during the four weeks prior to the household visit because they were waiting for a job or starting their own business in the coming period, where they had already been looking for work before the time reference period and at the same time they were able to work and were ready to join it (If available), during the week preceding the household visit. Additionally, the definition of job seekers is the Saudi individuals (males or females) enrolled in the job search programs of the Ministry of Civil Service (Jdarah or Saed) and the Human Resources Development Fund (Hafiz). And they register their personal data, qualifications, practical experiences and CVs through an electronic system. It is worth to mention that job seekers in the administrative records are not subject to the internationally recognized standards and conditions of unemployment approved by the ILO and therefore are not considered to be unemployed. Hence, not every job seeker is considered unemployed, he may be looking for work and is working in another job, this is the case in job seekers in government entities who are working, for example, in the private sector.

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) Held an Introductory Workshop and Issued the Unified Guide Government Entities Start to Implement the National Guide for Economic Activities (ISIC4) in the Middle of the Current Month The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) explained that it has completed the preparations for enabling the government entities related to economic activities to implement the "National Classification for Economic Activities", the classification was taken from the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, the forth version (ISIC4), and was issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. And it is considered as an approved Classification for Economic Activities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia starting next Monday 14 Rabi Thani, 1 January 2018. The official spokesman of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Tayseer Al-Mafraj, confirmed that the Authority has held several workshops for the relevant entities during the past period of time and prepared a unified guide and an electronic room for operations and communication in preparation for the start of the adoption of the National Classification for Economic Activities that can be defined as the way in which counting units can be collected according to a serial order and defined by homogeneous groups with a view to creating a general framework for comparison of statistical data at the local, regional and international levels. He also pointed out that the data of economic activity can be divided according to the guide prepared for this to specific levels in a manner similar to the characteristics of economic activities classified in one rank.  The official spokesman added that the implementation of the Unified Classification for the Economic Activities aims at creating a general framework for comparing statistical data at the local, regional and international levels, and providing a set of statistical data classified according to the economic activity. In addition, the implementation of the Unified Classification for Economic Activities contributes to the organization and restructuring of all sectors, supports the project of electronic connectivity between different entities, improves the quality of administrative records data of the relevant entities, and provides a comprehensive framework of economic activities to facilitate the handling of descriptive formulas automatically. It should be noted that the original version of the Classification was adopted in 1948. Most countries have applied this Classification as their national classification to become an important tool for comparing statistical data on economic activities at the international level. The first version (ISIC_1) of the International Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities was issued in 1958, the second version (ISIC_2) was issued in 1968 and the third version (ISIC_3) was issued in 1990. Finally, in 2006, the United Nations Economic and Social Council adopted the Fourth Amendment to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC4). The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) uses the Classification in all its economic and social products, and follows up the updates on the classification and recently it has been authorized to enable the government entities to apply it as an approved Classification for Economic Activities in the Kingdom.

GaStat president Dr. Fahad bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi word in the third anniversary of the custodian of the two holly mosques accession to the throne, 3rd of Rabee the second 1439H When the king is present, there will be national prestige and achievements process “King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud” is a distinct sentence in the book of abode. His period of rule will be eternalized forever. This period represents a growth journey that will never stop. Three years of king Salman’s rule, a vision was drawn for the future. However, his policy of toughness gave the country a dignity with more wisdom and farsightedness, while determination helped in increasing the country’s achievements.  In the third anniversary of the custodian of the two holly mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s accession to the throne, the country’s agenda became full of achievements. Since king Salman’s period of rule has started, each day represents a whole year during which a future is drawn through establishing security, accomplishments, development, justice, honor, prestige and wisdom. These features led the country to be the most effective geographical area in the world map. They also gave it a historical metalepsis with many events in a non-stop epoch. In the third anniversary of the king’s accession to throne, praise be to Allah for having such government which governs the country with Quran and Sunnah. Thanks God for belonging to such country that has a dominance in many levels because of its leading role towards security, peace, and stability. The kingdom wise attitudes toward the international and regional issues are still contributing in addressing many political, economic, social, and security affairs.  In the third anniversary of the king’s accession to throne, each citizen should be proud of being engaged in everything. This engagement story has started earlier since the periods of rule of king Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud and his sons (Saud, Faisal, Khalid, Fahad, and Abdullah) may all of them rest in peace. Presently, the story continues in the period of king Salman’s rule and hopefully will never stop.  In the third anniversary of the king’s accession to throne, every developmental sector has the right to announce its outstanding developments and achievements which could not be accomplished without the government support and efforts. This support aims at making the development a result of each project, a desire for all efforts, and an integration between all sectors in order to reach a brighter future, as the language of figures and statistics in all sectors is the language of facts and achievements.  In the third anniversary of the king’s accession to throne, our boarders become unattackable and our security is guaranteed, that is because of the top priority given to citizens’ security by our leadership.  Our courage champions are working hard on our security sacrificing their own lives. In addition, our armies are always there when their brothers and neighbors need them. These all show how the sons of “Salman” are united to keep the country boarders secured and prevent intimidation.  In the third anniversary of the king’s accession to throne, we are proud of serving the two holly mosques. Under his leadership- may God support him-, all countries of the world are impressed of the services provided by Saudi citizens when receiving and serving the guests of Allah, as all public and private entities are working hard to have the honor of serving pilgrims, Omrah performers, and visitors. A clear evidence for that is the services and projects that were provided in the last three seasons of Hajj.  In the third anniversary of the king’s accession to throne, we are all witnessing the new steps followed to build a modern country with young spirits. Since king Salman’s period of rule has started, the young spirit has appeared in all executive and administrative entities and sectors. That is to show how the country is young and capable of reform and develop, so that all individuals can live prosperous lives under the umbrella of security and development.   In the third anniversary of the king’s accession to throne, we ( here in the General Authority for Statistics) are renewing the commitment intending to achieve the country’s expectations and objectives while keeping on supporting the development, as what the statistical sector in Saudi Arabia is witnessing nowadays is considered a transformation not only locally but also regionally and internationally. We will work hard to make the country in a very high position anywhere and everywhere.  In the third anniversary of the king’s accession to throne, we congratulate the custodian of the two holly mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his crown prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz (May God protect them all), with all our prayers to always keep this country secured, safe, and stable, and to protect our country and leaders. May the custodian of the two holly mosques live longer and May Allah reward him well.

Congratulating The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Crown Prince, On the occasion of announcing the largest expenditure budget in the history of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Fahad Altekhaifi: Growth budget, development and transparency trends, and emphasis on the accuracy of the objectives On his behalf and on behalf of all members of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) and all the statistical sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr.Fahad Bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi congratulates The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz AL-Saud and his Crown Prince HRH Prince Mohmmad Bin Salman ALSaud, On the occasion of announcing the budget for the fiscal year 1439/1440 H as the largest expenditure budget in the history of Saudi Arabia. This achievement was a result of the directives of the wise leadership of this country to reduce the budget deficit for the current fiscal year by more than (25%) compared to the previous fiscal year despite the high expenditure. Dr. Altekhaifi stressed that the contents of the speech of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the budget declaration came to confirm the continuation of the development and improvement towards achieving the vision of the Kingdom (2030) to increase the size of the national economy and keep its growth. As well as, the continuation to diversify the economic base and income sources to enhance the ability to adapt to the developments and overcome the challenges and to ensure that the private sector can play a greater role in the development. Moreover, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in the budget declaration, stressed on the need to ensure that the burden on citizens will be minimized, he also stressed on dealing with the potential effects as well as supporting the private sector, identifying the objectives to reduce the budget deficit for next year to be less than (8%) of GDP despite the large and expanding budget and the continuation to reduce the dependence on oil. He also emphasized on the continuation to fight corruption and maintain the public money to pursue a bright future for the country. In addition, Dr. Altekhaifi added that this speech confirms the keenness of the wise leadership to ensure that prosperity will prevail in all regions of the Kingdom and that was confirmed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also that this budget will continue to be disbursed to various development sectors in all regions of the Kingdom at high rates. The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques concluded his speech ensuring that he had kept in mind that he would continue to work towards comprehensive and balanced development to all regions of the Kingdom and that there is no difference between these regions. The president of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) stressed that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' directive to all officials to raise the level of performance, develop government services, enhance the efficiency of expenditure and transparency to meet the aspirations and obtain the satisfaction of citizens for the services provided to them is a road map to be used by all government entities and in all areas of development. On the other hand, Dr. Fahad bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi said that all the important changes in the structure and mechanisms of the Saudi budget are considered strong cornerstones for the future on the intermediate and long terms. The budget included anticipations about the economy performance on the intermediate term “five years” which assured how clear and accurate are the objectives that the country works on to achieve a financial balance in 2023.  The announcement of these anticipations will be a fundamental base in managing the economic growth in all developmental fields. It will also enhance the transparency and disclosure values, which are values adopted by Saudi Arabia as strategic values in achieving the financial balance program as they comply with the announced objectives of the 2030 Saudi vision. Moreover, the announcement of the developmental funds and the investment fund collaborations in the capital and investment expenditure which exceeded the budget capital expenditure in the past years, in addition to the continuity and increase of the capital expenditure will have a strong impact on the economic development. Altekhaifi indicated that the 2018 budget statement is a result of the new political and economic policies which rely on strong bases both economically and administratively. It also asserts that we are going through the right path toward the future which started to be obvious through the wise economic management that the economic and development affairs council represents. The economic reforms that started with the announcement of the ambitious vision pushed the country towards a change through implementing a financial and economic policies system to improve the efficiency of the government expenditure, and found new non-oil income sources to create a kind of financial balance as a strategic objective on the intermediate term. This will be reflected on the economy of the country and will improve the citizen’s living standard.  GASTAT president added that the announced investments will affect the development positively, as it will enhance the economic growth, collaborate in improving the main services provided to citizens, and motivate the private sector which gets an unlimited support as it is considered a fundamental partner and a main axis in the development process. Furthermore, the high-yield investments that affect development in general and human resources in particular will contribute in increasing the Saudi citizen living standards.  He also mentioned that the budget with all its components will guarantee achieving an effective contribution to improve the efficiency of the government expenditure on one hand, and the quality, accuracy, and transparency of the financial accounts on the other hand. However, moving from cash basis accounting to accrual basis accounting will collaborate in increasing the financial efficiency which will be reflected on the projects outputs that the citizen get benefited from. GASTAT president concluded with prayers to this country “May God keep this country secured and prosperous”

On Tuesday the 3rd of Rabe’a first 1439H corresponding 21st of November 2017, the general authority for statistics (GaStat) has issued the cost of living index’ monthly report for the month of October. The report has been published on the official website of the authority www.stats.gov.sa ,  as the cost of living index has registered a decline by 0.2% in October 2107 compared to last month (September 2017).  The monthly report which was issued by GaStat clarified that the cost of living index in Saudi Arabia has recorded (137.5) in October 2017 which is a decline by 0.2% compared to September 2017 during which it recorded (137.8).       The report attributed this monthly decline of the indicator to the declines of the six main sections that compose the cost of living index which are: transportation section by (1.0%), House Furnishing, equipment, and maintenance section by (0.4%), food and beverages section by (0.3%), restaurants and hotels section by (0.2%), clothes and shoes section by (0.1%), and the sections of housing, water, electricity, gas, and the other kinds of fuel by (0.1%).       On the other hand, three main sections of the indicator have registered an increase which are: health section by (0.4%), culture and leisure section by (0.3%), and telecommunication section by (0.2%).       However, the sections of tobacco, education, commodity and services have not registered any worth mentioning change.

As the First Country in the Middle East.. with the Aim of Working to Improve the Statistics of Tourism  The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat): The Kingdom is enhancing its statistical position at an international level with the membership of the international expert group The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enhanced its statistical position at an international level after the joining of GaStat and the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage to the membership of the international expert group that is concerned with the Tourism Satellite Account of 2017, to be the first country in the Middle East that has been nominated to accomplish the Tourism Satellite Account according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) standards. UNWTO has also nominated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to execute the capacity building program. This initiative ensures an effective execution for information systems and tourism in all countries in the Middle East. Therefore, the Kingdom will represent these countries in managing the project, it is also considered as a mediator to transfer the knowledge and the experience of the organization to the Middle East countries. Moreover, the international experts group will work on preparing a guide to standardize and enhance the statistics of tourism and strengthen the support for the statistics within the United Nation system.  Additionally, the statistics committee and the Tourism Satellite Account will handle the coordination with international authorities and institutions to lead the statistics, set its standards within the United Nation system and support the member countries to enhance their national regulations for the tourism statistics and Tourism Satellite Account.  The president of GaStat Dr.Fahad Bin Sulaiman ALTekhaifi assured that the authority will work in partnership with the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage to maximize the benefit from this membership at all levels. He added that choosing two entities from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for membership of the international experts group, which is considered with the Tourism Satellite Account 2017, is an extension of the Kingdom's role in improving all the statistical fields and it shows what the statistical sector finds from the wise leadership (May God support them) for its unlimited support. In addition, it is also a result of  joint efforts and integration between GaStat and the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage in the field of tourism statistics. It is noteworthy to mention that the two authorities (Statistics and Tourism) have signed a memorandum of understanding in the field of information, statistics and the regulations of the governmental decision support. The signing was under the sponsorship of HRH the governor of Riyadh city, prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz AL-Saud, last March of this year within the events of the tourism investment and travel forum in Riyadh city.

Within the joint committee meetings events on the occasion of completing 55 years in the capital city Seoul  Saudi Arabia and South Korea Signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Statistics    Saudi Arabia and South Korea signed on Friday 7th of Safar 1439 H (27th of October 2017) in Seoul the capital city of South Korea a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the field of statistics. It aims to establish a cooperation between the two countries in the field of statistics by exchanging administrative and technical experiences that are related to the work of official statistical entities. Moreover, the signing ceremony was held within the “Saudi-Korean” joint committee meetings events on the 26 and 27 of this October. These events were held in the capital city of Korea on the occasion of completing 55 years of relationship between The Kingdom and Korea. The memorandum was signed by his excellency the president of GaStat Dr.Fahad Bin Sulaiman AL-Tukhaifi from the Saudi side and by the official commissioner of the Korean statistics Mrs. Hwang Soo Kyeong from the Korean side. A number of the two countries officials have attended the ceremony. In addition, his excellency the president of GaStat Dr.Fahad Bin Sulaiman AL-Tukhaifi expressed in his speech for this occasion his thanks to the Korean side for the warm reception and gracious hospitality that the Saudi delegation had. He also assured on the deep cooperative relationship between the two countries since 55 years ago until now in a noticeable improvement. He said" we are here today and more than half century of relationship between our countries have passed where the relations have improved remarkably in different fields, in which the economic interests have gathered the experts of the two countries on the tables of the commercial cooperation. Additionally, the special political relationships between the two countries have attributed in the advancement towards cooperation fields that are more distinguished. Since the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea have agreed on establishing diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level on 16th of October 1962 until this day, the two countries are keeping a strong cooperative relationship as partners and they represent a special model for the West-East convergence”. Dr.AL-Tukhifi added that signing the statistical memorandum between the two countries came along with the new Saudi Vision 2030 where it opens wider horizons for cooperation. The statistical partnership is a qualitative partnership to transfer successful experiences and effective cooperation in the fields of statistical data and information which is considered the strongest cornerstone towards future. It is noteworthy to mention that the statistical memorandum between Saudi Arabia and south Korea includes points for cooperative work in developing technical mechanisms necessary for collecting and publishing statistics according to international standards, determining the fundamentals of statistical databases in different statistical fields, exchanging experiences concerning the necessary requirements for establishing an information central system that is linked automatically with all public entities [and their activation mechanisms], developing statistical work in governmental entities in addition to developing government statistical plans, policies, and mechanisms, exchanging statistical awareness programs and organizing joint seminars and workshops which discuss cooperation issues.

Department of Statistics (formerly the General Authority for Statistics currently) members of the Committee of Economy and Energy Shura Council presented its strategic plan in the transition to an independent body, it came after a discussion of the Council's annual report to the Department of Statistics in the past general. Put some members of the Saudi Shura Council at their session yesterday, a number of views on the Department of Statistics report in the past year, comes at a time when the Department of Statistics turned into a public body for the census, a decision of the Council of Ministers about five weeks ago. In this regard, an informed source revealed «Middle East» yesterday that the General Administration of Statistics in Saudi Arabia will achieve its objectives through the provision of statistics and data and information and high-quality indicators, as all categories of beneficiaries of government agencies and enterprises and private individuals to various statistical areas (demographic, social, economic and environmental and cultural), so take advantage of them in the planning of development work. He said the same source, that the members of the Committee of Economy and Energy Shura Council, briefed on the strategic plan for the benefit of former public statistics, which will be applied in the transition to an independent body, where this plan is based on two major dimensions, namely: the beneficiary of the government agencies, private facilities, and members of service , in addition to high quality. The source said: «These two dimensions that contained five axes of development is the strategy based on the beneficiaries service, and statistical products and services of surveys and research, and methodology of statistical work and procedures, and the development of technical infrastructure for the development of statistical work, and the culture of the organization and capacity building, and restructuring and governance work». He pointed to the same source, to ensure that all the focus of a lot of projects and initiatives in accordance with the time schedule of expected Ontsem in a qualitative leap for statistical work in Saudi Arabia. , The Commission asked for the economy and energy Shura Council, during yesterday's session, the Department of Statistics to expedite the transition to Algiomkana Statistical System, to complete the basic structure of the Standard Rules Spatial Information National, and requiring all government agencies to provide information and data for the project automated link system information, on the bases technical and schedule required by the project. It also demanded the development of budgets for projects, statistical surveys and the transition to Algiomkana statistical system, in order to provide sufficient flexibility to spend it to be completed in the time required. During the session, Mohammed al-Mutairi student, information about the project to shift Algiomkana Statistical System, and hoped to provide this information to evaluate the project and support the necessary recommendations. He called Dr. Saeed Sheikh Department of Statistics to develop its website, providing information on the raw data, researchers can use the form and interested. While Dr. Mohammed Al Naji said during his speech that the Department of Statistics is still using an older scientific techniques, while Dr. Mansour Alkredes stressed the importance of a survey of the workforce in Saudi Arabia every three months, adding that the workforce have statistics of special importance require monitored on a quarterly Yearly dynamic response to changing realities. He suggested Dr. Abdullah Al-Harbi, establishment of a national data bank and information, and cooperation with the statistics departments at universities to build partnerships and specialized rehabilitation of the cadres of interest, and to cooperate with the Shura Council to find a center for public opinion polls and trends. Saudi Shura Council session saw yesterday, to approve the proposal to add two paragraphs fourth and fifth articles of the health system, introduced from Dr. Mona Al-Mushayt and decided Shura Council approval of some «model contract public construction» prepared in light of those amendments and recycled to the Shura Council for consideration in accordance with amendments introduced by the Government on a number of competitions and the government procurement system and project materials to article 17 of the system board. These developments come after an extraordinary economic steps, which decided the Saudi Council of Ministers about five weeks ago, converting Department of Statistics to the general body of the census, and in this regard, said the engineer will be launched after ninety days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette », pointing out that the decision inception keen Adel Faqih, Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning said that «introduction of the new organization of the General Authority for Statistics wise leadership to support statistical track, and translates what looks to him and rulers of the quest towards the further development of service facilities, especially what has to do with the affairs of statistics, data and information, and that to cope with change and successive development in all economic fields, especially after the establishment of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development. He noted architect jurist as given to the Department of Statistics and Information before converted to body care cream and high-Care of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and the Crown Prince and Crown Crown, to play its role in the provision of statistical data which contribute to strengthening the country's economy and development in various fields. The Minister of Economy and Planning, Saudi Arabia, that the issuance of this decision was an extension of a lot of decisions, orders and directives of the High precious to support and enhance many of the sectors of government turning to independent bodies proved right those decisions and effectiveness in view of the data that touched and experienced Staff of those sectors and the beneficiaries of its services. He Engineer Faqih hoped to be in the issuance of this wise decision motivation and incentive to tender wealthy achieve what the new body to aspire in their plans and programs and keep pace with the size of the aspirations of the beneficiaries of their services, adding that «this organization, which consists of 28 articles provision in Article II that arise General body called the General Authority for Statistics and enjoy public legal personality and financial and administrative independence, and organizationally linked with the Minister of Economy and Planning ». And that the new regulation provides for the formation of the Governing Council of the Commission headed by the Minister of Economy and Planning, and the membership of the Chairman of the Authority, and a number of members who represent some of the relevant government agencies and a representative of the Council of Saudi Chambers, and two representatives of specialists work of the Commission. According to Faqih that the purpose of the establishment of the Authority is to organize and activate the statistical work in Saudi Arabia, through the preparation of a comprehensive, accurate and unified national statistical system and follow up on its implementation, and the development of plans and programs necessary to meet the statistical needs, service development plans, scientific research and various activities. The Minister of Economy and Planning of Saudi that the new organization stressed that «the General Administration of Statistics» responsible for statistics in Saudi Arabia, is the only official statistical reference for the implementation of statistical work system and technical supervisor and regulator to him, a jurisdiction that conducts surveys, as it is the research and studies and dissemination of the results of the different areas statistical, and it is in relation to the conditions of the community and its activities. Engineer jurist considered that the Council of Ministers to ensure that the decision of the Board of Directors shall review the general statistics of the state system, and suggest what would need to be in, and submit it according to regular procedures

GaStat: Real Estate Index Decreased by (6.3%) compared to the previous year and stabilized compared to Second Quarter On Tuesday Safar 4th, 1439 (October 24th,2017), GaStat issued its quarterly indicator of the real estate price general index in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the third quarter (2017) and published it through its official website www.stats.gov.sa . This indicator is based on available registry data of the Ministry of Justice regarding real estate transactions. This indicator is an essential tool that supports entities which make economic and statistical decisions regarding the real estate price movements and future forecasts during different periods of time. The indicator includes three main sectors consisting of many real estate types: residential sector (piece of land, building, villa, apartment, and house), commercial sector (piece of land, building, shop, gallery and commercial centre), and agricultural sector which only includes agricultural land. The index of real estate prices for the third quarter 2017 recorded a relative stability compared to the previous quarter (second quarter 2017), reaching (84.9) in the third quarter 2017. The report attributed the stability of the real estate price index for the third quarter of 2017 to the varying percentage of change in the main sectors composing the indicator. The commercial sector witnessed a decline by (1.0%), the residential sector witnesses an increase by (0.2%), while the agricultural sector was stable without any relative change. The indicator recorded a decline of (6.3%) compared to the same quarter of the previous year (third quarter 2017). The report attributed this decline to the decline in the main sectors composing the indicator: the residential sector (7.9%), the commercial sector (10.9%) and the agricultural sector (1.0%).

Labor Market Bulletin Includes 67 Statistical indicators GaStat: The Saudi unemployment rate is 12.8% in the 2nd Quarter (2017)  The General authority for Statistics (GaStat) published the Labor Market Bulletin for the second quarter of 2017 on Sunday Muharram 11th,1439H (Corresponding to October 1st,2017) which provides comprehensive data and indicators on the labor market in the Kingdom from April 1st to June 30th, 2017 (Corresponding to Rajab 15th to Shawwal 6th, 1438H) to support decision and policy makers regarding labor force. It also contributes in building a database on the labor market in the Kingdom that can be used to prepare and plan future social and economic development programs. The quarterly bulletin includes 67 statistical indicators which contain data and indicators from the Labor Force Survey estimates and labor market data from the administrative records of the relevant entities (Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Ministry of Civil Service, General Organization for Social Insurance(GOSI), Human Resources Development Fund and National Information Center) applying international standards in this area. The results of the bulletin for the second quarter of 2017 indicated that the total number of employees from the data of administrative records in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reached (13,841,158) individuals compared to (13,889,137) for the first quarter of 2017.   According to the results of the bulletin also from the data of administrative records in the government agencies for the second quarter of 2017, the total number of Saudis seeking work reached (1,075,933) individuals, (216,352) of them are males and (859,581) are females. The results also showed that the highest percentage of Saudis seeking employment was among the age group (25-29), which is (34.2%). Also according to the results of the administrative records data, nearly half of the Saudi job seekers hold university degrees reaching (50.5%). The results of the bulletin showed that the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia for the Saudi population (15 years and over) from the Labor Force Survey estimates for the second quarter 2017 reached (12.8%), (7.4%) are males and (33.1%) are females. And the unemployment rate in the Kingdom for the total population (15 years and over) is (6.0%), (3.3%) are males and (22.9%) are females. The results also showed that (11.6%) of the unemployed Saudis had previously worked, and (32.9%) of unemployed Saudis who had previously worked left their jobs due to dismissal from the employer. The survey results also showed that (9.6%) of unemployed Saudis have already been trained. Regarding the economic activity rate of total population (15 years and over) it reached (54.2%), divided between males (78.2%) and females (18.7%). In its bulletin, GaStat also explained that the economic activity rate for total Saudi population (15 years and over) reached (40.3%). The bulletin included a large number of detailed data on workers according to the regulations they are subject to, nationality, sex, age, administrative region and educational level, as well as data for job seekers, average monthly wages, working hours and domestic workers. For more details, you can view the bulletin through Gastat’s official website: www.stats.gov.sa

UN International Comparison Program board of directors holds second meeting Dr. Altekhaifi: KSA's distinctive work at statistics leads to council membership and participation in recurring meetings Saudi Arabia has participated at the second meeting of the board of directors of the International Comparison Program (ICP), which was held at Washington D.C. early this week.  His Excellency, president of the General Authority for Statistics, Dr. Fahad bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi, confirmed that the program’s work and results will help shape policies for global comparison to support statistical products of the participating countries. It will also enable the General Authority for Statistics to access the best global practices for statistics for the purpose of improving and developing the statistical work. Also, it will raise the quality of the data, which will reflect positively on the decisions for development that rely mainly on statistics. On the other hand, his excellency Dr. Altekhaifi pointed out that the board of directors, which has 11 countries including Saudi Arabia, which represents west Asia, has looked into the progress made when implementing the 2017 cycle in the participating areas. The council also specified a list of research topics including, implementing a rolling survey approach and building Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) time series, integrating ICP and Consumer Price Index (CPI) activities, Streamlining the process of establishing product lists and the use of importance indicators, improving the availability and quality of input data for rents, government services, and construction, streamline the use of productivity adjustments for government services, fine tuning global linking procedures, quality assurance of resulting PPPs and measures of reliability and other topics related to statistical work. Dr. Altekhaifi added that the ICP selecting of Saudi Arabia for the membership at the 2017-2019 cycle came as a result of the positive role of the General Authority for Statistics in different statistical programs organized by the UN. It also confirmed the kingdom’s effective role on the global map of statistics. Moreover, it reflects the results of the strategic transformation of the kingdom’s Statistic sector, which the leadership cares for and supports due to its role in aiding the national development decisions.  The ICP, which is under the supervision of the World Bank, is a partnership program for statistics on a global level. It is based on a statistical system that is connected with economic analysis. It uses statistical methods to derive the necessary data to calculate the PPP for about 200 countries and economies worldwide. It will facilitate the use of PPP as currency converters. That will allow for the comparison of the total economic indicators and the economic situations of countries worldwide. It is noteworthy to mention that the ICP board of directors is compiled of executives, chairpersons, and leading experts in 11 statistical devices participating in the program. They are distributed according to the regional areas: Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands, Latin America, the Caribbean, West Asia, Commonwealth of Independence States, European Union, non-European Union States, members of the organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, representatives of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, UN Statistics Division, and the Inter-Agency Coordination Group.

More than 450 Statisticians Started this morning GaStat Launches the “Statistical Calendar” for 1438H Hajj Season Through its official website www.stats.gov.sa, the General Authority for statistics (GaStat) launched the statistical calendar for the 1438H Hajj season. It shows the publishing dates of services provided by the Kingdom to pilgrims, in addition to the statistics of domestic and international pilgrims. GaStat official spokesman, Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej, explained that the statistical calendar with its content, from statistics and numbers, aims to show the efforts made to pilgrims from more than 45 public and private entities. On the second day of the current month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the statistics of services provided to pilgrims from health and medical services, public services, transportation sector services and telecommunication services will be announced respectively. Then, the number of domestic and international pilgrims arriving to Makkah will be published and updated daily until the evening of the 9th day of Dhu Al-Hijjah when the total number of pilgrims will be announced. Mr. Almofarrej added that GaStat will issue the detailed bulletin of Hajj statistics the morning of Eied day (10 Dhul Al-Hijja ), he also added that all information will be available at GaStat official website on schedule.  On the other hand, GaStat official spokesman explained that the enumeration of pilgrims coming to Makkah has started the morning of Wednesday (1st of Dhu Al-Hijjah), by more than 450 statisticians, administrative and technicians from GaStat. They are distributed on all main centers in Makkah, Medina, Jeddah and Alta’if, and they work 24 hours until the sunset of Arafah day, next Thursday (9th of Dhu Al-HIjjah). GaStat called all pilgrims coming to Makkah for Hajj to provide the necessary statistical data required in all Pilgrims enumeration centers this year which are (Makkah/Jeddah Highway) Road , (Makkah/old Jeddah)Road, Altan’eim center(the connection road between Medina and Makkah), AlShrai’e center (the connection road between Makkah city and Alta’if city through AlSail), Alkar center (the connection road between Makkah and Alta’if through Alhada), and the Southern center ( Allaith -Jazan road  near Als’adeiah village) in addition to the Hajj statistics supportive centers in Jeddah at King Abdulaziz international airport, mass transportation stations, and other locations in Jeddah, Medina center (Abiar Ali and ‘Ashirah), and Alta’if center (Alsail Alkabeer).

GaStat Enumerates Pilgrims Every Year Saudi Arabia has been honored to serve nearly 24 million pilgrims in 10 years According to the official statistics of the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat), the total number of pilgrims that Saudi Arabia has been honored to serve during the last ten years has reached 23,935,354 pilgrims. The last Hajj season (1437H) recorded the lowest number of pilgrims during the last ten years as it reached 1,862,909 pilgrims. While the year (1433H) recorded the highest number of pilgrims during the last ten years as it reached 3,161,573 pilgrims. The official spokesman of Gastat, Mr.Taiseer Almofarrej, explained that the task of pilgrims enumeration every years is one of the tasks that Gastat has the honor of. It started since 1390H since Gastat was called (the Central Department of statistics), in order to provide accurate information that helps all state agencies in planning and development of everything related to serving Hajj visitors. This mission continued during all these years to witness developments and enhancements in the enumeration techniques every year to be more accurate and comprehensive. Mr. Almofarrej added that the Hajj statistics program aims at the completion of all future planning programs to ensure providing the necessary services needed by the guest of Makkah, whether social, health, security, food, or transportation services. This is done through using a time series of accurate data about the number of pilgrims, in addition to the estimation of labor forces needed for providing the necessary services for pilgrims during Hajj season every year. The data and number of pilgrims is also used by relevant systems who studies the preparations and main facilities in Makkah city and holy places, and take it into consideration when preparing the necessary plans. In addition, accurate data and information about Hajj statistics is provided to researchers, students, and individuals who are interested in this field. The data is also used in the evaluation of activities and events made by relevant entities who serve pilgrims, in addition to identify the method of arrival of domestic and international pilgrims. The official spokesman stressed that GaStat will be announcing the number of pilgrims periodically starting from the 1st of Dhu al-Hijjah. GaStat will also announce the final and official number of pilgrims on the evening of the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah through the Hajj statistics bulletin. The Bulletin will include detailed results about: number of domestic pilgrims, international pilgrims, pilgrims by gender, pilgrims by nationality, pilgrims by arrival destination, number of cars carrying pilgrims by type, and other detailed data. It is worth mentioning that the number of pilgrims in the last ten years exceeded 3 Million pilgrims in one time, and it exceeded 6 Million pilgrims 6 times. The number was lower than 2 Million in 3 Hajj seasons, and last year was the lowest according to the following table:

In cooperation with the Communication and Information Technology Commission and the General Sport Authority GaStat starts to visit more than 57,000 households next Thursday The General Authority of Statistics (GaStat) will start next Thursday, 19 Shawwal 1438H (13 June 2017), to visit more than 57,000 households in all regions of the Kingdom in coopereation with the Communication and Information Technology Commission and the General Sport Authority to conduct 3 household surveys: the survey of ICT’s access and use for households and individuals, sports survey for households, and the labour force survey for the third quarter. GaStat calls upon all citizens and residents to cooperate with the statisticians working in the field in 13 regions of the Kingdom including their cities and provinces. The work of than 450 field researcher will continue until 25 Dhu al-Qa’dah 1438 H (17 august 2017). GaStat official spokesman, Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej, explained that the household sport survey is one of the requirements of the Saudi Vision 2030 in cooperation with the General Sport Authority. It aims to provide recent indicators about the extent of playing sports for households. Through its results, stakeholders will learn about the reasons for playing sports or not and they will get updated statistics about the relationship of households with sports. It will also provide a comprehensive picture on the size of community participation in sports and physical activity. In addition, it will provide data on the ratio of sports practitioners within the household who practice sports on a regular basis, at least once a week. It also provides data on the percentage of sports practitioners in public facilities, clubs or sports centres, and the number of times a person is engaged in sports during the week, and the reasons why a person may not exercise. Mr. Almofarrej added that this survey coincides with the Labour Force Survey for the third quarter of this year which aims to provide detailed data about national labour force, measure the rates of employment and unemployment, provide data on employed and unemployed individuals, identifying the average monthly wages of the workers, provide data on the average weekly actual working hours by occupation, and economic activity of workers, and data on formal and informal workers. The results will be published in the Labour Market Bulletin, which was recently launched by GaStat. Regarding the survey of ICT’s access and use for individuals and households, GaStat’s official spokesman said that in cooperation with the Communication and Information Technology Commission aims at providing updated data and indicators on the extent of household and individual’s access to information and communication technologies. It includes: the availability of communication and information technology devices, the extent of using mail services by households and household access to ICTs. The survey will also provide individual data including: the extent to which information technologies are used for individuals, age groups, educational and occupational status, difficulties, places of use and reasons for not using ICTs. On the other hand, Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej confirmed that the GaStat has been keen to involve all relevant parties from data producers and users in developing its statistical products from creation to publishing through integrated partnership. A training program was recently held for the supervisors of these surveys, in which the Communications and Information Technology Commission and the General Sport Authority has participated. GaStat has confirmed that all information will be treated as an information basis which is reliable and can be used by development decision-makers in all relevant government entities that will serve the interest of citizens and residents. Gastat also has mentioned that al statistical researchers carry official badges and they are officially authorized to collect data to be kept confidential in accordance with the general statistics system issued by the Council of Ministers. GaStat also made available on its official website www.stats.gov.sa the opportunity for students and interested individuals to view field search forms on which the data will be collected. All households and establishments may inquire through the toll free number 8001240440 about this work or other coming work.

Administrative-based Census and Centralized Data System Included Cabinet Okays Statistical Cooperation with Netherlands and Korea As part of its continuous support for statistical sector in Saudi Arabia, the Cabinet has approved in its sessions held on Ramadan 3rd and 17th respectively, the mandate to the Minister of Economy and Planning or his nominee for holding discussions with the Dutch and Korean sides on statistical development, and to sign memorandums of understanding (MoU) with them in this regard. His Excellency President of the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat) Dr. Fahad Sulaiman Altekhaifi hailed the decision stressing:  “The statistics sector in Saudi Arabia receives ongoing support from our leaders at all levels; establishing the importance of statistics in development. These agreements aim to develop our statistical endeavors based on the world’s best practices in the field. Also, our discussions with the Dutch side will address developing modern mechanisms to implement register-based census in compliance with the internationally recognized standards, including a defined statistical approach to run censuses, document data, and to store them in statistical archives. Also, this includes developing the necessary technical tools to create a comprehensive system from census databases, and leverage them in statistical surveys and studies, those implemented by GAStat, public or private agencies. The bilateral cooperation between KSA and Netherlands enhances sharing statistical awareness programs to ensure community participation and to share success stories, to boost the exchange of expertise between both countries, and to take part in statistics-related training courses, conferences, forums, seminars and workshops." As far as cooperation with Korea is concerned, GAStat President noted: “It features the development of technical mechanisms to collect and publish statistics in accordance with the internationally recognized standards, to identify basics needed to create a comprehensive system using various statistical databases and to share expertise as to the requirements to build a centralized data center, which will automatically be connected to all public agencies. Also, this is meant to secure the tools needed to activate these centers, and to develop public policies and mechanisms to provide statistics-based technical and advisory services to both public and private entities. It should be noted that GAStat has undertaken a series of preparatory steps with several local and international organizations towards finalizing the preparations for the (1440H – 2020) census, which will be the first register-based census using administrative records (civil registration number, national ID number, resident ID number), as well as the national home address. Unlike earlier censuses, this census features a comprehensive electronic connectivity with a number of stakeholders, including the National Information Center, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Housing, the Saudi Post, as well as various sectors in concern with the citizen, resident and housing data.

In Collaboration with 19 Government Entities to Develop the Statistical Sector GaStat Discusses the General Statistics system draft Within the framework of activating the statistical sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) held a workshop on Wednesday, 28 Sha’ban 1438H corresponding to 24 May 2017 with 19 government entities and specialized consultation bodies. The workshop was held to discuss the draft of the general statistics system in preparation for its submission to GaStat’s board of directors then for the concerned entities for approval. H.E. Dr. Fahad Altekhaifi, GaStat President, expressed his gratitude to the workshop participants and asserted that developing the statistical sector is a joint responsibility between relevant entities. He also added that the aim of this workshop is to ensure that the proposed system draft meets all requirements which maximizes its benefit. Furthermore, he explained that the proposed system draft is comprehensive and keeps up with the latest developments in statistical systems in order to activate statistical work and deepen its impact on planning and enhancing statistical awareness. It also regulates the relationship between GaStat, as a supervisor and organizer of the statistical sector in Saudi Arabia, and all constituents of the statistical sector which includes beside GaStat; statistical administrative units in all government entities, private sector and academic sector. GaStat’s President also confirmed that the current system provides a solid structure for statistical work with the amendments that have been made over the past years. The regulation which was issued by the Council of Ministers Decision No. 11 issued in Muharram 13th, 1437H enhanced and completed the process of developing statistical work. The regulation included a number of subjects that covered a group of regulatory provisions and the most important of these subjects: emphasizing that the Authority has a public juridical personality, and a financial and administrative independence, it is the entity in charge of statistical affairs, the only official reference to implement statistical work, and it’s the only technical supervisor and regulator of statistical work, it is managed by a board of directors which by the regulation has the powers and authority on the statistical sector and its components in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The regulation gave the Authority the task of establishing a permanent coordinating committee. It also gave it the responsibility of establishing a central system for information which is connecting electronically with all concerned entities. In addition to implementing statistical work, the regulation also assigned other tasks to the Authority which include: applying recognised international standards which include statistical work methodology, survey design and implementation, conducting research and studies, analyse data and information, all information and data documentation work, collecting statistical data and information that covers all aspects of life in Saudi Arabia from its different sources and classify it and section it, either from surveys and censuses or from administrative records in public entities and private establishments, analyse this data and extract its indicators, prepare evidences and national statistical classifications according to international standards, using it and developing whenever needed, prepare statistical bulletins and reports of surveys and research and publish it. The regulation also gave the Authority the right to provide statistical services, conduct surveys, prepare statistical research and studies, provide data from its databases to establishments and business sector in a commercial manner and shall benefit from its financial revenues in financing statistical and information services provided. In addition, it is responsible of transmitting knowledge and provide recommendations to public entities to develop all information system and statistical work methodology to achieve a comprehensive, accurate and unified statistical system and to develop public awareness of the importance of statistics, and to monitor and follow up all published data on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the competent regional and international bodies and coordination with the concerned entities. This regulation reflects the leadership's keenness to develop the main infrastructure of all development decisions considering that the statistical products and services given by GaStat is a solid base to support all national development decisions and support policymakers with information that is considered as the compass of development work, which makes this regulation an added value at the development level  on one hand and the activation of the national strategy for statistical development on the other.

Based on ministry of justice registry data GaStat launches real estate index indicator On Monday 27th of  Rajab 1438 H corresponding to 24th of  April 2017, GaStat launched the Saudi real estate index indicator. This indicator is based on available registry data of the ministry of justice which are about real estate transactions . GaStat described this indicator as an essential tool that supports entities which make economic and statistical decisions  associated with real estate price movements and future expectations during different periods of time. The indicator includes three main sectors composed of many real estate classes: residential sector ( piece of land, building, villa, apartment, and house) , commercial sector (piece of land, building, shop, and commercial center), and agricultural sector ( agricultural lands).  Real estate price index indicator showed a decrease in the Saudi real estate prices during the first quarter of 2017. The indicator registered a decrease of (2.3%) compared to the previous quarter (fourth quarter of 2016). Whereas it registered a decrease of (9.9%) during the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same quarter of last year. The report attributed the decrease in the first quarter of 2017 (compared to the previous quarter) to the decrease in all composing sectors: commercial sector (1.8%), residential sector (2.6%), and agricultural sector (0.3%).  On the other hand,  the decrease in the first quarter of 2017 (compared to the same quarter of 2016) is attributed  to the decrease in all composing sectors: commercial sector (11.7%), residential sector (9.5%), and agricultural sector (1.3%).  GaStat indicated in a workshop ,held in " Restatex " exhibition in Riyadh city, that : as an official  reference of statistics and an organizer of the statistical sector in Saudi Arabia, one of Gastat tasks is following up the price movement of real estate composing units and recording the values of their transactions all over Saudi Arabia. In addition to monitoring their changes from time to time through the new statistical product " real estate price index" which relies on the data provided by ministry of justice. This represents the integration and cooperation between the different government entities which aim at moving sustainable development forward.  GaStat also stated that the new statistical product aims at founding distinct real estate statistical indicators that measure the Saudi real estate market performance and fill the gap of data in this sector. It is considered an essential tool that supports entities which make economic decisions in this field. This product's data benefit those who are interested in the economic and statistical analysis of real estate prices and the future expectations during different periods of time. GaStat has issued a complete bulletin about this index and its details.

In a Step Towards qualitative statistical work to measure the economic and social impacts on the household Gastat launches an annual household survey until 2020 The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) started last week to visit 24,000 households in all regions of the Kingdom to conduct a survey aimed at households to build economic and social indicators. GaStat called upon all citizens and residents to cooperate with statisticians working in the field in the different 13 regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including their cities and governorates. The visits of more than 355 statisticians to households will continue until 8 Sha'ban 1438H corresponding to 4 May 2017. HE Dr. Fahad Altekhaifi, President of GaStat, explained that this survey is an extension of the tools of supporting decision-makers in developing the study of the economic and social status of households periodically to support the national transformation program by providing economic indicators and readings for households on a yearly basis. In addition, it will track and evaluate the changes in the social and economic indicators of households and their consumption behavior until 2020. His Excellency also explained that the Household Economy Survey is one of the new products that have been designed in cooperation with some government entities in line with international practices in such surveys to meet the needs of general economic changes. Therefore, the survey covers eight main aspects: household list data, education data, labor data, data on housing characteristics, income and expenditure data, living conditions data, household economic activity data, and future household outlook data. This survey is a complementary to other surveys implemented by Gastat. He also added that the results of the survey will be published in next August. On the other hand, GaStat met with a number of Household Economy Survey beneficiary government entities:" Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Trade and Investment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor and Social Development" when launching field work, in order to introduce the survey and its expected results, describing it as one of the most important national surveys. GaStat stressed that all data are treated as an information base for decision-makers in all relevant government agencies, which benefit citizens and residents. Gastat also notes that all statistical researchers hold official badges and are officially authorized to collect data to be stored and kept confidentially in accordance with general statistics system issued by the Council of Ministers. GaStat also made available through its official website www.stats.gov.sa the opportunity to access the field research forms on which the data will be collected. All households and establishments can contact the toll free number 8001240440 for any inquiries about this work or any other inquiries. It should be noted that the General Authority for Statistics follows the international standards approved in the selection of the sample for all its statistical work as part of the statistical society, which is selected according to the of statistical sampling methods and is required to be representative of the society being studied and include the characteristics of the community until the results are published as official statistics and published through its website.

According to the human development report issued by a UN program with a remarkable progress Saudi Arabia is “the second country on the Arab world level and the thirty eighth internationally” within the very high-level human development countries Saudi Arabia registered the second rank on the Arab world level and the thirty eighth internationally within the very high-level human development countries according to the human development report issued by the UN developmental program 2016. Dr. Fahad bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi, GaStat president, clarified that Saudi Arabia has reached that remarkable progress which was reflected in the human development report issued by the UN developmental program 2016. He added, Saudi Arabia was classified within the countries that have the highest levels of human development.  His Excellency assured that the report is one of the annual reports issued by the UN developmental program since 1990. In addition to the main topics it discusses and resolves annually, the program includes many statistical tables of various indicators, the most important of which is a table that contains the human development guide classified by the level of human development all over the world. This guide is considered a standard that summarizes all achievements in the field of development through three main dimensions: individual health life, knowledge acquisition, and the proper living standard.  He indicated that this improvement in the Saudi level of human development is continuous one. During the past three years, Saudi Arabia registered the (39th) rank last year, the (55th) rank in 2010, and the (77th) rank in 2005. This progress is attributed to the noticeable improvement in all elements of the human development guide which are represented in the expected age of birth, the expected average of studying years which means the expected number of studying years that a child is expected to spend since he/she starts going to school, supposing that the rates of this process by age groups remain stable during all times. The guide elements also include the gross national income per capita which is calculated by the purchase power rate in Dollar.  It is worth mentioning that the human development report divides the world into four groups by value of human development guide’s indicator. Countries with low-level human development have a value of (0R550), whereas countries with intermediate-level human development, their value ranges between (0R550) and (0R699). However, countries with high-level human development have a guide value that ranges between (0R700) and (0R799), and countries with a very high-level of human development have a value of (0R800) or more. The Saudi indicator mentioned in the 2016 report registered (0R847).  Dr. Fahad stressed that this report reflects the level of human development that Saudi Arabia witnesses in many fields. It shows the exerted efforts on many levels. These efforts were achieved as a response to the continuous directions of the custodian of the two holly mosques, his crown prince, and his deputy crown prince. It also reflects the goals upon which the 2030 Saudi vision is made, the vision that represents a promising document that aims at achieving the sustainable development and coping with all rapid developmental changes internationally.

Based on 3 Strategic Pillars Riyadh Announces 14 Recommendations at the Conclusion of the First GCC Statistical Forum The First GCC Statistical Forum held in Riyadh concluded by announcing 14 recommendations, co-drafted by decision and policy makers, academia, private sector, in addition to the leaders of the statistical data and information authorities, systems and centers in the GCC countries and international and regional organizations. The participants in the Forum, organized by the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia and the GCC Statistical Center, stressed the importance, moving forward, of strengthening and increasing the effectiveness of the ongoing efforts in the various related fields, based on three strategic pillars (Partnerships, Development and Harmonization, and Resources). The participants also agreed on the importance of holding the Forum on a regular basis ever two years, to monitor progress and achievements in the areas of joint work and collaboration, and discuss the latest developments in the demand for and the production and dissemination of official statistics. The next forum will take place, in Muscat, in March 2019. This announcement came along with the Forum participants’ acknowledgment of the extra burden put on the national statistical authorities, centers and systems by the ever increasing and evolving demand for better quality statistics. The recommendations on the Partnerships Pillar stressed the need to (i) Strengthen the cooperation and dialogue mechanisms between statistics users and producers at the national level, so that the needs of users are met and the priorities are set in a better way; (ii) Enhance coordination and cooperation between producers of statistics in countries, to share knowledge and best practice, avoid duplication of efforts, and increase the quality of official statistics; (iii) Improve coordination and cooperation at the regional and international levels, to keep pace with and ensure contribution to and benefit from relevant developments, and to exchange expertise and experiences; (iv) Explore the potential of public private partnerships in statistics, to increase the frequency of data and develop new data sources; and (v) Foster collaboration and partnerships with the academic community in the GCC region, to serve a wide array of objectives including improving statistical literacy, adding value to statistical production, increasing the correct use of data, and strengthening training and capacity development.    In terms of the Development and Harmonization Pillar, the participants recommended to (i) Improve the quality and comparability of official statistics, to meet the needs of users; (ii) Incorporate contemporary international statistical standards and classifications; (iii) Enhance the use of administrative registers to produce official statistics; (iv) Take full advantage of modern statistical tools and technologies; and (v) Promote the correct use of statistics and statistical awareness and culture in society. Finally, regarding the Sources Pillar, the participants’ recommendations included to (i) Operate statistical agencies in an efficient, cost-effective and results-based manner; (ii) Attract and keep qualified GCC nationals in the statistical work; (iii) Increase the effectiveness and coverage of capacity development programs; and (iv) Explore alternative sources of funding and cost sharing outside the framework of official statistics including with the private sector. For the recommendations of the first Gulf Statistical Forum | Press here

27 Scientific and Awareness-raising  Booths in the Exhibition accompanying the First GCC Statistical Forum The Forum events which  will be held in Riyadh under the theme " enhancing statistical collaborations to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region", under the patronage of the custodian of the Two Holly Mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and organized by the general authority for statistics and the GCC statistical center on 21-23 Jumada second 1438 H corresponding to 20-22nd of March 2017, will be accompanied by an exhibition that contains 27 scientific and awareness raising booths, in collaboration with the GCC countries and the GCC statistical center, in addition to a number of establishments specialized in statistical and informational technology. Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej, the official spokesman of the General Authority for Statistics, stressed that the Forum welcomes visitors such as , specialists, academia, students and government entities leaders to know more about statistical methodologies in different fields; economic, social, energy and natural resources, open data, statistical awareness and sustainable development. The forum which will gather 40 speakers from the gulf region and other countries, data producers and users, and people from the academic sector, focuses on main axes which are: statistical data and information request resulted from the national developmental tracks, sustainable development agenda and international economic issues, discussing the provision of statistical products and services to support the national developmental tracks and sustainable development in the GCC region, in addition to discussing the statistical collaborations between data producers and users to support the economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region. The events of the Forum will start with 4 sessions within two days, the sessions will start with discussing the first axe which is about statistical data and information request: the request from an international prospective and focusing on the international issues and their impact on policies and reforms all over the world in general and in the gulf region in particular. In addition to data needs and gaps, it will also discuss request from a national and regional perspective, a general session titles" producing and publishing statistics: the strategic motives of the national statistical entities' works", followed by  a general session about the third axe which is associated with collaborations " next steps: towards sustainable mechanisms and framework for cooperation between users and producers". Along with the forum activities, 6 workshops will be held: the first will discuss measuring the progress in achieving sustainable development goals, the second is about enhancing statistical knowledge. As for the third, it will be about the statistical media. In the fourth workshop, the participants will get to know the mechanisms of statistics development by using information and communication technologies. However, the fifth will discuss data revolution which will present cooperation between Arab countries to get benefited from data revolution in enhancing the production and publishing of statistics. After that, two presentations will be presented by one of the GCC countries and the GCC statistical center about the preparations and challenges. Regarding the last workshop, it will discuss the collaborations between the public and private sectors in the field of statistics.

STC Business technical sponsor for the Gulf Statistical Forum Under the Royal hospice of  the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may God protect him - and with the organization of the General Authority for Statistics and GCC Statistical Center, STC Business will participate, as an activities technical sponsor, in the Gulf Statistical Forum, which will be held under the theme "Enhancing Statistical partnerships to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC countries.", at the Marriott Hotel in Riyadh during the period from March 20th to 22nd, 2017. The Forum will bring together 40 GCC and international speakers to discuss strengthening the statistical partnerships in view of supporting economic and development policies. They will discuss several key issues which are: requirement for data and statistical information ensuing from national development trends, the agenda for sustainable development and emerging global economic issues, provision of statistical products and services to support national development trends, and sustainable development in the GCC countries, in addition to conducting research on enhancing the statistical partnerships between users and producers of data to support the economic policies in the GCC countries. STC Business  pavilion accompanying the forum, will display a group of communication services and information technology solutions, with an explanation of the most important advantages and benefits that contribute to the success of statistical work and support digital transformation in the domestic and the Gulf region. This sponsorship comes within STC Business endeavor to support and meet the requirements and needs of their customers in both public and private sectors, through a variety of connectivity products based on mobile and fixed networks technology, providing integrated digital solutions, cloud computing , and managed services. STC Business Unit provides solutions and services, telecommunications and information technology in a way that meets the government and companies demands and requirements. This is carried out through the most advanced data centers distributed around the Kingdom. These centers are connected through a network of optical fibers whose length attains more than 147, 000 kilometers, and  are supported with a mobile network covering 96% of the populated areas in KSA, and uses technologies of the Second and Third Generation, while 96% of the network uses the Fourth Generation technology known as LTE. These national networks are linked to the world through a number of cross-border land and sea cables and an Internet gate which is the largest in the MENA region, where its communication capacity attains 1.5 Terabit / sec. and passes 12 Beta Bytes of data per day.

8 days until the beginning of the 1st GCC statistical forum events After 8 days, the 1st GCC statistical forum events will begin in Riyadh under the theme " enhancing statistical collaborations to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region". The forum will be under the patronage of the custodian of the two holly mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and organized by the general authority for statistics and the GCC statistical center on 21-23 Jumada second 1438 H corresponding to 20-22nd of March 2017.  The forum, in which there will be 40 speakers from the gulf region and other countries, other people who are specialized in statistics such as data producers and users, and people from the academic sector, focuses on main axes which are: statistical data and information request resulted from the national developmental tracks, sustainable development agenda and international economic issues, discussing the provision of statistical products and services to support the national developmental tracks and sustainable development in the GCC region, in addition to discussing the statistical collaborations between data producers and users to support the economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region.  The first day will witness the opening event. Many political personalities will attend such as ministers, GCC general secretariat leaders, ambassadors, statistical organizations heads, international and regional organizations representatives, statistical sector specialists, media, and other participants.  The forum events will begin with 4 sessions on the first two days. On these sessions, the first axe will be discussed from an international perspective which is about statistical data and information request. Also, the sessions will discuss the international issues and their impact on the policies and reforms all over the world and on the gulf region in particular. Data needs and gaps will be taken into consideration too. Data request will be discussed also from a national and regional perspective. There will be a general session titled " statistics production and publication: the strategic motives of the national statistical organizations works". It will be followed by another general session that discusses the third axe which is about collaborations " next steps: towards sustainable framework and mechanisms for cooperation and dialogue between users and producers". Along with the forum events, there will be 6 seminars; the first will discuss measuring the progress in achieving the sustainable development goals, the second is about enhancing the statistical knowledge. Whereas the third will focus on statistical media, and the fourth is about the mechanisms od statistical development by using information and telecommunication technologies. On the fifth seminar, data revolution will be discussed, it will present the cooperation between Arab countries to benefit from data revolution in enhancing statistics production and publication. After that, there will be two presentations about the preparations and challenges, they will be presented by one of the GCC countries and the GCC statistical center. As for the last seminar, collaborations between the public and private sectors in the field of statistics will be discussed.

Gathering 40 gulf and international speakers, discussion sessions and workshops  For the first time… the launching of the GCC Statistical Forum in Riyadh.. the end of this month Sabir Al Harbi: the patronage of King Salman confirms his interest in reinforcing GCC joint work Hessa AlJanahi: the meeting of data producers and users will contribute in building sustainable frameworks and mechanisms for cooperation The Director General of the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat), Mr. Sabir bin Said Al Harbi, affirmed that the patronage of the Custodian of the Two holy Mosques of the first statistical forum which will be held later this month confirms his interest in reinforcing GCC joint work, enabling the cooperation in the development and economy files, and linking and coordinating between GCC countries in all fields. Mr. Al Harbi stressed on the importance of the forum which will be held for the first time, gathering 40 gulf and international speakers with data producers, data users, and the academic sector. They will discuss many main axes like: the request of statistical data and information that results from the national- developmental tracks, sustainable development agenda, and international economic issues. They will also discuss the provision of statistical data and services to support the national- developmental tracks and sustainable development in the GCC region. In addition to discussing the main theme which is enhancing statistical collaboration between data users and producers to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region.  The forum will be under the theme "   enhancing statistical collaborations to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region" under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holly Mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and organized by the general authority for statistics and GCC- Stat. The Director General of GCC-Stat pointed that the forum comes in a time when current global political and economic developments forms a challenge in the Gulf Region, which leads us to guard by precise economic development trends that fit global changes, especially statistical wise. This appears in the importance of the existence of good, reliable, classified and timely data that measures the progress towards achieving economic growth and diversifying its sources. On the other hand, the GCC-Stat consultant, Mrs. Hessa AlJanahi, said that the forum is considered one of the manifestations of GCC governments interest to building sound national statistics derived from strategic motivations that serve the goals of 2030 sustainable development.  Mrs. AlJanahi predicted that the meeting of data producers, data users and relevant sectors will contribute in building sustainable frameworks and mechanisms for cooperation and creating strong collaborations in order to bridge the gap between statistics producers, including, statistical systems and statistics users from government and public entities, academics, researchers, or other users. The forum will start with the opening on the first day. Many politicians will attend such as ministers, GCC secretariat leaders, ambassadors, statistical organizations presidents, national and international organizations representatives, statisticians, media specialists, and other participants.  In the next two days, the sessions will start with discussing the first axe which is about statistical data and information request: the request from an international prospective and focusing on the international issues and their impact on policies and reforms all over the world in general and in the gulf region in particular. In addition to data needs and gaps, it will also discuss request from a national and regional perspective, a general session titles" producing and publishing statistics: the strategic motives of the national statistical entities' works", followed by  a general session about the third axe which is associated with collaborations " next steps: towards sustainable mechanisms and framework for cooperation between users and producers". Along with the forum activities, 6 workshops will be held: the first will discuss measuring the progress in achieving sustainable development goals, the second is about enhancing statistical knowledge. As for the third, it will be about the statistical media. In the fourth workshop, the participants will get to know the mechanisms of statistics development by using information and communication technologies. However, the fifth will discuss data revolution which will present cooperation between Arab countries to get benefited from data revolution in enhancing the production and publishing of statistics. After that, two presentations will be presented by one of the GCC countries and the GCC statistical center about the preparations and challenges. Regarding the last workshop, it will discuss the collaborations between the public and private sectors in the field of statistics. Statistical sector interested individuals can register to attend the forum events by visiting the website through the link: https://www.stats.gov.sa/gccsf/en

Within the activities of the first GCC statistical forum 40 speakers from the gulf and other regions discuss enhancing statistical collaborations to support economic policies and development, next March GCC statistical forum, which will be held in Riyadh from 21st to 23rd of Jumada 2nd corresponding to 20th to 22nd of March 2017, is receiving 40 speakers from the gulf and other regions of the world, in addition to several people who are interested in statistics. They all will be gathering in a forum held for the first time under the theme "   enhancing statistical collaborations to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region" under the patronage of the two holly mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and organized by the general authority for statistics and GCC statistical center.  The forum will gather many people who deal with statistics such as: data producers, data users, and the academic sector. They will discuss many main axes like: the request of statistical data and information that results from the national- developmental tracks, sustainable development agenda, and international economic issues. They will also discuss the provision of statistical data and services to support the national- developmental tracks and sustainable development in the GCC region. In addition to discussing the main theme which is enhancing statistical collaboration between data users and producers to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region.  In details, the opening of this forum will be on the first day. Many politicians will attend such as ministers, GCC secretariat leaders, ambassadors, statistical organizations presidents, national and international organizations representatives, statisticians, media specialists, and other participants.  On the next day, the sessions will start with discussing the first axe which is about statistical data and information request: the request from an international prospective and focusing on the international issues and their impact on policies and reforms all over the world in general and in the gulf region in particular. In addition to data needs and gaps. The session will be headed by Mr. Abdulaziz Alfuraih, vice governorate of the Saudi Arabian monetary fund. Prof. many speakers will start on that day such as: Enrico Guvannini, economic statistics professor in Roma university, Italy, Mr. Paul Schreyer, vice director of statistics in OECD, Mr. Jose Roberto Rosales, deputy director of statistics department in IMF, and dr. Khalfan bin Mohammed Albarwani, vice executive president of banking operations, research, and statistics in Oman central bank.  As for the second session, it will be headed by dr. Johannes Jütting, director of Paris secretariat in the OECD. They will discuss request from a national and regional perspective. The participants in this session include: de. Salem bin Nasser Alqudhai'e, vice minister of economy and planning, Mrs. Faridah Abdulrahim Khanji, director of analysis and assessment department in the office of his highness the president of ministers' cabinet in Bahrain, ambassador. Ashok Nigam, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Khalifah bin Saeed Alabri, assistant general secretary of economic and developmental affairs in the GCC general secretariat. On the third day, the forum works continue with a session titles" producing and publishing statistics: the strategic motives of the national statistical entities' works". This session will be headed by ambassador. Mossa Kolaklikaya, general director of statistical, economic, and social research and training in the Islamic countries (Ankara center). The participants also include: Mr. Taiseer bin Mohammed Almofarrij, from the general authority for statistics in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Mohammed Hassan ahli, executive director of statistics and national data sector in the federal competitiveness and statistics authority, UAE, Mrs. Sawsan Dawood Allawati, general director of the information directory in the national statistics and information center, Oman, and dr. Rashoud bin Mohammed Alkhuraiyef, supervisor of demographic studies center in king Saud university.  After that, a general session about the third axe which is associated with collaborations will begin " next steps: towards sustainable mechanisms and framework for cooperation between users and producers" headed by Mr. Saber bin Saeed Alharbi, the general director of GCC statistical center, with the participation of the forum workshops heads to discuss the workshops results and recommendations according to the forum three axes: data request, producing and publishing data, and collaborations between statistics users and producers. At last, a final session will start to announce the forum recommendations.  Along with the forum activities, 6 workshops will be held: the first will discuss measuring the progress in achieving sustainable development goals, the second is about enhancing statistical knowledge. As for the third, it will be about the statistical media. In the fourth workshop, the participants will get to know the mechanisms of statistics development by using information and communication technologies. However, the fifth will discuss data revolution which will present cooperation between Arab countries to get benefited from data revolution in enhancing the production and publishing of statistics. After that, two presentations will be presented by one of the GCC countries and the GCC statistical center about the preparations and challenges. Regarding the last workshop, it will discuss the collaborations between the public and private sectors in the field of statistics.  At the end of the forum works, a session will be held and headed by dr. Fahad bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi, GaStat president. In this session, the forum recommendations will be announced regarding enhancing collaborations between statistical data and information producers and users on the national and regional levels. Then, a concluding speech will be delivered by GCC statistical center and the general authority for statistics.

announcing (6) new economic surveys to support development Collaboration between GsStat and the private sector to develop statistical work GaStat revealed new economic surveys to be implemented this year and next year. These surveys aim at fulfilling the development needs, they include: insurance activity survey, direct foreign investment survey, intermediate and small establishments survey, retail activity survey, non-profit sector survey, and tourism survey.  This was mentioned in the second workshop held by GaStat yesterday (Monday) 13th February 2017 in Jeddah. HE dr. Fahad bin Sulaiman Altekhaifi, GaStat president, said that the private sector is an essential partner in the national development. He added, it integrates all public sectors and institutions in a way that strengthens the national economy. The collaboration between "statistics" and the private sector is part of the developmental movements which aim at achieving the 2030 Saudi vision and representing that with indicators that reflect the progress in the achievement of this vision. The role of GaStat, statistical national commission, and the statistical sector in general became more important now as the need for accurate statistical data, effective indicators, and measurement tools increased. Dr. Fahad indicated that one of the most important stages that GaStat works on these days is meeting the clients' needs whether from the public or private sector. It also works on establishing effective collaborations locally, nationally, and internationally with related parties. In addition to creating indicators necessary for current and future needs. GaStat works with its partners on unifying the information sources, facilitating their access, and providing innovative statistical products with international standards.   On the other hand, Mrs. Kholoud Aldakhail, the national statistical commission chairman, stated that the commission was established under the umbrella of the council of Saudi chambers based on the Saudi chambers board resolution number 13 /88/m issued in 15/6/1437 H as response to the ministry of economy and planning and GaStat request. This reflects GaStat initiative to make the private sector a collaborative sector. She asserted that the role of this committee, which include 23 members who work in the field of statistics, data, and information, is represented in the coordination with Saudi chambers of commerce all over Saudi Arabia. The coordination will be about statistical work activation, data exchange, and proposing methods to enhance the statistical work impacts on the private sector. Furthermore, it deals with elaborating the use of statistics in private sector, deepen relations between GaStat and Saudi chambers of commerce.  The workshop discussed two main themes; the requirements of data users in the private sector as one of the statistical sector components, determining required additional data by activity, and the proposed methods to develop the mechanism of data collection from the private sector institutions. GaStat has presented the economic surveys and the new surveys that will be implemented by them during these two years. They also presented the six tracks based on which the authority work which can be summarized in; a work strategy about the authority clients and partners to fulfill the actual need of statistical products, then developing these products and services and improving the statistical operations and methodologies. Also, raising the level of information technology and digital infrastructure to enable products to start from a strong base that can be adapted with any change. Moreover, focusing on raising statistical awareness, and building capabilities in the statistical field. In addition to structuring all GaStat tasks and departments.  At the end of the workshop, dr. Fahad expressed his thanks to all the participants. He asserted that the workshop outputs will contribute in enhancing the effectiveness of the decisions made by the private sector and its policy makers for the citizen's advantage and society economies which enhance his role in the domestic product growth, and guarantee making proper decisions based on accurate data to facilitate measuring their result and reflections.

Based on ministry of justice registry data GaStat launches real estate index indicator On Monday 18 Rabe'a second 1438 H corresponding 16 January 2017, GaStat launched the Saudi real estate index indicator. This indicator is based on available registry data of the ministry of justice that is about real estate transactions in 2015 and 2016. GaStat described this indicator as an essential tool that supports entities which make economic and statistical decisions  associated with real estate price movements and future expectations during different periods of time. The indicator includes three main sectors composed of many real estate classes: residential sector ( piece of land, building, villa, apartment, and house) , commercial sector (piece of land, building, shop, and commercial center), and agricultural sector ( agricultural lands).  Real estate price index indicator showed a decrease in the Saudi real estate prices in 2016 compared to 2015 and 2014. The indicator registered a decrease of (6.1%) compared to 2015. Whereas it registered a decrease of (8.5%) compared to 2014. During the fourth quarter of 2016, this indicator recorded a decrease of ( 3.5%) compared to the previous quarter. However, it recorded a decrease of (8.7%) compared to the same quarter of 2015.  The report attributed the decrease in the fourth quarter of 2016 (compared to the previous quarter) to the decrease in all composing sectors: commercial sector (4.1%), residential sector (3.4%), and agricultural sector (0.3%).  On the other hand,  the decrease in the fourth quarter of 2016 (compared to the same quarter of 2015) to the decrease in all composing sectors: commercial sector (12.3%), residential sector (7.4%), and agricultural sector (1.1%).  GaStat indicated in a workshop ,held in " Restatex " exhibition in Dhahran city, that : as an official  reference of statistics and an organizer of statistical sector in Saudi Arabia, one of Gastat tasks is follow up the price movement of real estate composing units and record the values of their transactions all over Saudi Arabia. In addition to monitoring their changes from time to time through the new statistical product " real estate price index" which relies on the data provided by ministry of justice. This represents the integration and cooperation between the different government entities which aim at moving sustainable development forward.  GaStat also stated that the new statistical product aims at founding distinct real estate statistical indicators that measure the Saudi real estate market performance and fill the gap of data in this sector. It is considered an essential tool that supports entities which make economic decisions in this field. This product's data benefit those who are interested in the economic and statistical analysis of real estate prices and the future expectations during different periods of time. GaStat has issued a complete bulletin about this index and its details on its website. It is worth mentioning that GaStat has announced 45 new statistical products as a first stage of the new products  which included economic, social, demographic, Umrah , and labor market statistics.  In addition to energy, knowledge, environment, culture, sport, entertainment, safety, and security statistics. Download: Real Estate Price Index Q4 2016 (PDF)

Signed a joint memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development GaStat: We work on developing data of labour market to support decision makers On Monday 20 Rabī‘ al-awwal,1438 corresponding to December 19, 2016 , GaStat signed a memorandum of understanding to develop electronic data exchange and integration and the implementation of a number of joint national initiatives relevant to the data of labour market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The national Labour Market Observatory and the "Labour Market bulletin" are considered the main outputs of this memorandum. Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej, GaStat's official spokesman, clarified that the joint work in the field of data exchange with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development is a work in progress, and that the memo signed today by His Excellency Dr. Fahad Altekhaifi, GaStats President, and His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Development, Mr. Ahmad Saleh Alhomaidan in the framework of developing joint work, particularly after the merging of  the Labour with Social Development is made to keep pace with the new changes in this field. Emphasizing on the importance of collaboration to provide statistical services  that support decision makers and users by providing statistical data and information that is immediate, comprehensive, reliable and flexible in the best interest of beneficiaries either citizens or residents. Almofarrej stressed that the reinforcement of collaboration between GaStat and the Ministry is based on developing entire statistical products related to labour force, social development, establishments, statistical data exchange and integration and the integration of work at the relevant national observatories. The joint work also includes the unifying of standards, classifications and definitions of labour force, social development and establishments. The memorandum contributes in achieving the goals of the social development national strategy, the Saudi employment strategy, the tenth development plan, the privatization strategy and the national strategy of statistical development.  GaStat's official spokesman also asserted that most important outcomes of this collaboration is: the support of statistical data production and dissemination through surveys and administrative records carried out by GaStat and the Ministry on a regular basis, total coordination regarding labour force statistical data dissemination, facilitate cooperation in the exchange and flow of information, the development of Saudi labour market data system through providing a statistical database that is highly accurate to be used by decision makers, planners, researchers and relevant entities, unify efforts to ensure getting accurate statistical data for the most important indicators of the labour market and social development which contribute in the measurement of the 2030 Saudi Vision and the 2020 national transformation program, meet the requirements of the beneficiary entities, the collaboration in establishing a databases for GaStat which are not-for-profit, associations and charities, cooperative committees and social development centers, the collaboration and coordination to reinforce the specialized observatories currently in place, establish and prepare new statistical products specializes in the labour market and social development issues.  On the other hand, Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej clarified that GaStat is currently working in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social development, Ministry of Civil Services, Human resources Development Fund and the General Organization for Social Insurance to develop the labour market data through the production of "Labour Market Bulletin" to be a periodic integrated bulletin that meets the demand for suitable trained and qualified manpower , and the supply side of the population of who are capable of working and willing to search for a job at  certain period of time. The bulletin will be the updated version of the quarterly Labour force Survey results conducted by GaStat.