Saudi Arabia ranks 1st in government strategy in Tortoise’s Global AI Index

Saudi Arabia has been ranked first globally in the “government strategy” sector of a recently published artificial intelligence report, which evaluates more than 60 countries in the world, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

The Global AI Index, one of the indicators of the international classification of artificial intelligence issued by UK-based news website Tortoise Media, incorporates more than 100 indicators, categorized into seven sub-pillars, including government strategy, research, development, talent, infrastructure, operating environment, and commercial.

Germany and China secured the second and third rankings in the government strategy sector, respectively.

The Kingdom scored 100 percent in the government strategy category thanks to its establishment of the National Strategy for Data and AI, the presence of a dedicated government authority for artificial intelligence, the allocation of funding and budget for AI initiatives and the formulation and monitoring of national targets for artificial intelligence.

The Kingdom secured 31st position overall in the index that was published on Friday by, which is a global company that has an advisory board that includes experts in artificial intelligence from around the world.

From its early stages, the Kingdom has demonstrated a solid commitment to developing artificial intelligence and in 1979, a royal order was issued to establish the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority as the central authority responsible for organizing, developing, and overseeing all AI-related matters.

The SDAIA led the national plans for data and artificial intelligence to achieve the aspirations of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also chairman of SDAIA’s Board of Directors, and the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

It has worked to develop NSDAI to unify efforts and launch national initiatives in data and artificial intelligence and make optimal use of them.

This achievement by the Kingdom aligns with the goals of Vision 2030, which aims to position the country prominently in global indicators across various domains.