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Under the patronage of H.E. Minister of Economy and Planning GASTAT celebrates 65 years of statistical progress

14-07-2025

Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Planning, Chairman of GASTAT’s Board of Directors, Mr. Faisal Alibrahim, GASTAT organized a celebration at its new headquarters in Riyadh to mark 65 years since the launch of official statistical work in the Kingdom. The event was attended by GASTAT’s President, Dr. Fahad Aldossari, along with a number of GASTAT’s leaders and employees.
This celebration comes as an extension of a national journey of statistical work that began in 1960 with the issuance of Royal Decree No. (23), which established the official statistical body in the Kingdom. This body later evolved into an independent authority that serves as the only official statistical reference for implementing, supervising, and regulating statistical work. 
In a speech delivered during the celebration, His Excellency the Minister emphasized that this occasion represents a documentation of a national journey that has made statistics a central element in decision-making, guiding public policies, tracking progress, measuring performance, and evaluating the impact of national targets.
His Excellency explained that GASTAT is entering a new stage, where statistics play a key role in the national transformation taking place across all levels in the Kingdom. This aligns with the ambitious national targets of Saudi Vision 2030, which has linked the performance measurement of various sectors to data and statistical indicators.
For his part, GASTAT’s President, Dr. Fahad Aldosaari, expressed his appreciation for the Minister’s patronage of the celebration, affirming that this occasion embodies the trust in the fundamental value of statistical work and the continuous support from the wise leadership. He added, “The statistical achievements realized to date would not have been possible without the support of the Kingdom's leadership, which is aware of the importance of this sector. They also wouldn't have been possible without the integrated efforts among government entities and the cooperation of society-both individuals and institutions-in providing GASTAT with data. He noted that in 2023, the Kingdom led Arab countries in the Statistical Performance Index and advanced 22 ranks globally. This achievement significantly strengthened the Kingdom's international standing, enabling it to host global statistical events, such as the sixth edition of the United Nations World Data Forum, which the Kingdom successfully bid to organize in 2026. Furthermore, it was elected as a member of the High-Level Group for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Statistics.
It is worth noting that statistical work in the kingdom began at an early stage in 1930 with the issuance of the imports and exports statistics system. It later became an organized activity with legal, administrative, and technical foundations established by the General Statistics Law issued by Royal Decree No. (23) dated 07/12/1379 AH (corresponding to 01/06/1960), aiming to activate and enhance the impact of statistical work. In its early stages, it relied on limited field surveys. The department was later transformed into a "General Authority" in 1436 H (2016) by a Royal Decree, becoming an independent entity with legal personality and financial and administrative autonomy, and was entrusted with leading, organizing, and managing the statistical sector in the Kingdom.

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