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The Kingdom’s new Statistics Law (pdf) raises the bar on data confidentiality, restricting its use to statistical purposes only and banning disclosure by General Authority for Statistics’ (Gastat) employees or collaborators. Published in the official gazette on Friday, the law allows Gastat to release anonymized data for research, enlist public or private entities for surveys under strict safeguards, and requires public entities to cooperate on international statistics, standards, and best practices.
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Private companies whose main business is statistical work must now obtain a license from Gastat. The law makes it illegal to misuse statistical data or authority, with penalties ranging from warnings to fines of up to SAR 500k, as well as potential license suspension or cancellation. A dedicated committee will review violations, while affected parties retain the right to seek compensation in court.
The law centralizes the Kingdom’s statistical framework, granting Gastat exclusive authority to conduct major national censuses, including a population and housing census every ten years. Government bodies, private businesses, and individuals are required to provide requested data, while official statistics must be published transparently and remain freely accessible.
Under the new law, Gastat must sign MoUs to coordinate data sharing with key agencies, including the Saudi Central Bank, the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, and the Commerce Ministry.
The Statistics Law will take effect 180 days after publication in the official gazette, which corresponds to Wednesday, 11 February 2026.
REMEMBER- The Cabinet approved the new Statistics Law late last month to replace the General Statistics Law and the General Population Census Law and establish a modern framework to improve the quality, transparency, and use of statistics across public and private sectors in line with international standards.
