24/08/2026 03:30 AST
Saudi Arabia's space economy is projected to expand nearly fourfold to $31.6 billion by 2035 from $8.7 billion in 2024, as the Kingdom seeks to build space and digital technologies into new engines of economic growth and sustainability.
More than 50 percent of essential climate variables can be measured from space, according to the Digital & Space Sustainability Report 2026, published by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission with the support of the International Telecommunication Union. The report highlights the role of satellite technologies in climate monitoring, water management, agriculture, desertification and disaster response.
This comes as Saudi Arabia was projected last year to see its space economy grow at a compound annual rate of 12 percent through 2035, according to CST's KSA Space Market Report 2025.
The expansion is part of a broader push to develop digital infrastructure and space-based services while using technology to address environmental challenges.
In opening remarks in the report, Abdullah Al-Swaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said: "Saudi Arabia is committed to unlocking the full potential of artificial intelligence and digital innovation as powerful enablers of sustainable development."
He added: "We see AI as a force that can strengthen economies, empower people, protect the environment, and help address the defining challenges of our time."
Internet penetration in the Kingdom reached 99.6 percent in 2025, placing Saudi Arabia among the world's most connected countries, while fiber-optic coverage extended to more than 3.9 million homes, the report said.
The report also highlighted the Kingdom's performance in the ITU's ICT Development Index 2025, where Saudi Arabia scored 99.2 points, the highest score globally.
Digital adoption
Women's participation in the digital sector climbed to 35 percent, the highest rate in the Middle East and North Africa region and above G20 and EU averages, up from 7 percent in 2018, according to the report.
Affirming the growth of Saudi Arabia's technology sector, a report released by the General Authority for Statistics in June found that AI adoption among businesses in the Kingdom rose 20 percent from 2024 to 33.1 percent in 2025.
Contributing to economic growth
The digital economy contributed 15 percent to the Kingdom's gross domestic product, equivalent to SR459 billion ($122.4 billion), in 2024, according to the report. It also described Saudi Arabia as having the region's largest ICT market.
Since 2012, Saudi Arabia has secured 16 World Summit on the Information Society awards and 47 certificates of excellence, the highest tally of any country in the region, the report said.
Sustainability gains
The report also records broader sustainability gains under the Saudi Green Initiative, saying more than 85 initiatives have been launched since 2021, including 10 that are fully completed.
It said the Kingdom had rehabilitated 1 million hectares of land, connected more than 3.6 gigawatts of renewable energy to the national grid, planted more than 161 million trees, protected 18.1 percent of terrestrial areas and 16.1 percent of marine areas, and released 10,000 wild animals into nature reserves and national parks.
The initiative aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, reduce emissions by 278 million tonnes annually by 2030, and protect 30 percent of the Kingdom's terrestrial and marine areas by 2030, according to the report.
Arab News
Please wait...
