Current progress in the nationalisation programmes in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

For the past 14 years, Saudi Arabia has been struggling to reduce its dependence on foreign labour and increase the participation of Saudi nationals in the private sector. Policies of Saudization adopted in the last twenty years have not achieved what they set out to do, falling far short in combating unemployment, accommodating the increasing numbers of Saudi job seekers, and decreasing dependence on foreign labour. This explanatory note discusses the latest Saudization scheme 'Nitaqat' and evaluates it as a national policy. The note addresses three dimensions: Output of the programme, mainly planned and implemented activities; Outcome or what the policy achieved (intermediate policy results); and finally, the Objective of the programme, i.e., the general impact the policy might have in the long run.