How a decade of reforms turned Saudi Arabia into a global competitiveness knowledge hub

RIYADH — Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia has developed a competitiveness model through wide-ranging economic and development reforms, leading to its selection by the World Bank Group as a global knowledge hub for economic reform. The transformation began in 2016 under Vision 2030, with the aim of diversifying the economy, strengthening global competitiveness and positioning the Kingdom as a global trade and business hub. The model focuses on productivity, sustainability, inclusiveness and economic resilience, drawing on international best practices and expertise from organizations including the World Economic Forum, IMD, World Bank Group, OECD, UNCTAD and UNCITRAL. A decade of reforms and initiativesThrough the Saudi Center for Competitiveness and Business and its government partners, the Kingdom has worked on around 1,000 economic and development reforms and initiatives across 16 priority sectors, covering legislative and technological areas. The reforms included strengthening the legislative environment through the issuance of 1,200 laws and regulations, including the Companies Law, Bankruptcy Law, Commercial Courts Law and its implementing regulations, as well as the Commercial Register and Trade Names laws. Efforts also focused on simplifying procedures for businesses. Government procedures for the business sector were made available through a single destination, while 100 investment journeys were redesigned across various sectors and more than 600 licenses were converted into instant licenses. The reforms and initiatives extended across sectors including logistics, education, healthcare, tourism and data, among other priority areas. Monitoring global competitivenessThe Kingdom established mechanisms to monitor its competitiveness performance. The Saudi Center for Competitiveness and Business directly tracks five major global competitiveness reports and indicators, while 26 others are assigned to relevant government entities for analysis, recommendations and follow-up. Engaging the public and private sectorsStakeholder participation has also formed a key part of the model. The public, government entities and private sector can provide feedback on proposed regulations through the Istitlaa public consultation platform. Meetings and workshops with local and foreign businesses are also used to identify challenges they face, develop recommendations and propose necessary reforms. Verifying reforms on the groundThe process extends beyond introducing reforms. Their continued implementation is verified through mystery-shopper exercises, surveys and beneficiary opinion polls. These mechanisms assess compliance with reforms and recommendations, identify remaining challenges and evaluate the services provided. Rising in global competitiveness rankingsThe reforms and initiatives have driven significant gains in Saudi Arabia’s global competitiveness rankings. In the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, Saudi Arabia ranked third among G20 countries and 13th globally among 70 economies, while placing among the world’s top 10 in 74 sub-indicators. From national model to global knowledge hubThe progress has also taken the Saudi competitiveness model beyond the Kingdom. The World Bank Group selected Saudi Arabia as a knowledge hub for promoting a culture of economic reform globally, allowing other countries seeking to strengthen their competitiveness to benefit from the Kingdom’s experience. Several countries have also sought access to the expertise and specialized knowledge developed by Saudi Arabia to help them build similar competitiveness models.