Saudi Arabia has implemented around 1,000 economic and development reforms over the past decade, as the Kingdom continues to reshape its business environment under Vision 2030.
- Saudi Arabia strengthens its business environment under Vision 2030
- Saudi Arabia issues 1,200 laws and regulations
- More than 600 licences converted into instant licences
- Saudi Competitiveness and Business Centre tracks global rankings
- Saudi Arabia uses feedback to measure the impact of reforms
- Saudi Arabia ranks third among G20 economies
The transformation has also resulted in the issuance of approximately 1,200 laws and regulations. In addition, Saudi Arabia has redesigned 100 investment journeys and converted more than 600 licences into instant licences.
The reforms have helped strengthen the Kingdom’s global competitiveness. Saudi Arabia ranked third among G20 countries and 13th globally in the 2026 World Competitiveness Yearbook published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
Saudi Arabia strengthens its business environment under Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia began its reform programme in 2016 by bringing together government entities to identify barriers and improve the business environment.
Since then, the Kingdom has introduced reforms across legislative, procedural and technical areas. These changes cover 16 priority sectors, including logistics, education, healthcare, tourism and data.
The wider programme supports Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the Saudi economy, attract investment and strengthen the Kingdom’s position in global markets.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia developed its reform model around four areas: productivity, sustainability, inclusiveness and economic resilience.
The Kingdom also drew on international expertise and the experiences of advanced economies while developing its approach.
Saudi Arabia issues 1,200 laws and regulations
A key part of the transformation has focused on strengthening Saudi Arabia’s legislative framework.
The Kingdom has issued around 1,200 laws and regulations as part of its broader economic reform programme.
Major measures include the Companies Law, Bankruptcy Law, Commercial Courts Law and its implementing regulations. The reforms also include the Commercial Register Law and the Trade Names Law.
These changes aim to create a clearer and more efficient regulatory environment for companies and investors.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia has worked to simplify the processes involved in establishing and operating businesses.
More than 600 licences converted into instant licences
Saudi Arabia has redesigned 100 investment journeys across different sectors to make government procedures easier for investors and entrepreneurs.
The Kingdom has also converted more than 600 licences into instant licences.
As a result, businesses can complete several government transactions through more streamlined processes and fewer administrative steps.
The reforms span several sectors that play an important role in Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification strategy.
These include logistics, education, healthcare, tourism and data.
Saudi Competitiveness and Business Centre tracks global rankings
The Saudi Competitiveness and Business Centre, or SCBC, plays a central role in monitoring the Kingdom’s competitiveness.
The centre tracks five comprehensive international reports and indicators directly. Meanwhile, relevant government entities monitor another 26 reports and indicators based on their respective areas of responsibility.
These entities analyse the findings, identify areas for improvement and develop recommendations.
They also monitor the implementation of reforms across different sectors.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia uses public and private sector consultation to shape its regulatory reforms.
Stakeholders can share their views on draft regulations through the Istitlaa Platform. Government entities also hold meetings and workshops with local and international private-sector representatives.
This approach allows authorities to identify business challenges before developing and implementing reforms.
Saudi Arabia uses feedback to measure the impact of reforms
Saudi Arabia has also introduced mechanisms to assess whether reforms are delivering the intended results.
Authorities use mystery shopper exercises, surveys and opinion polls to gather feedback from beneficiaries.
These measures help government entities assess compliance with reforms and identify gaps in service delivery.
They also provide insights into the challenges businesses and investors continue to face.
Saudi Arabia ranks third among G20 economies
Saudi Arabia’s reform efforts have coincided with an improvement in its international competitiveness rankings.
In the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, the Kingdom ranked third among G20 countries and 13th globally out of 70 economies.
Saudi Arabia also placed among the world’s top 10 countries in 74 indicators.
The progress highlights the scale of the regulatory and administrative transformation underway since the launch of Vision 2030.
Looking ahead, the Kingdom is continuing to use international benchmarks, stakeholder feedback and government coordination to strengthen its business environment and support long-term economic diversification.
