Saudi Arabia Earns Top AI Positions in IMD's 2026 Ranking
· Cortex Solutions
Saudi Arabia ranks 2nd for AI cybersecurity awareness and 4th for national AI strategy and corporate AI adoption in IMD's new 2026 Digital and AI Ranking.
According to a report by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), republished by Arab News on November 12, 2026, Saudi Arabia achieved leading positions in a number of artificial intelligence indicators in the IMD World Digital and AI Ranking 2026, published by IMD through its World Competitiveness Center. The headline of the report described the ranking as covering 70 countries.
What is the new ranking?
According to the ranking page on IMD's website, the "World Digital and AI Ranking 2026" is a new ranking that succeeds the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking that IMD published in previous years. As IMD describes it, the ranking measures how ready countries and companies are to use artificial intelligence productively, govern it responsibly, and earn the trust of the people it affects. The page states that the United States tops the ranking, with Singapore and the Netherlands just after it in the top three.
In other words, the ranking no longer measures digital infrastructure alone. It asks: are the country and its companies actually using AI? Do they have regulatory frameworks that protect data? And do people trust these technologies?
Where did Saudi Arabia place?
According to Arab News, citing SPA, the Kingdom's results in the sub-indicators were as follows:
- 2nd globally for awareness of AI-related cybersecurity risks, and for protection of sensitive data in corporate AI systems.
- 4th for implementation of the national AI strategy, corporate adoption of AI, and public access to AI technologies.
- 5th for AI adoption, and for three sub-indicators: public trust in AI, regulatory frameworks for AI-related issues, and corporate investment in AI.
- 7th for AI skills, cities' use of AI to improve service quality, and companies' efforts to address bias in AI algorithms.
- 8th for AI readiness.
- 9th for private-sector AI investment.
- 11th for AI and capital investment.
The report said these results reflect the progress of the Kingdom's data and AI ecosystem and support the goals of Vision 2030.
In separate coverage published by House of Saud on November 12, 2026, the same main positions were confirmed: 2nd for corporate awareness of AI cybersecurity risks; 4th for national strategy implementation, corporate adoption and public access to AI technologies; and 7th for skills, cities' use of AI and addressing bias. The site noted that it found no separately named official statements from the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) or the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology about this specific release.
What we don't know yet
The sources we reviewed did not state the Kingdom's overall position in the ranking, and IMD's public page does not include a full country table; the full details are in the report IMD publishes. We therefore stick to the indicators announced by SPA and do not attribute to the Kingdom any overall rank that these sources did not publish.
Reading the results
What stands out is that the Kingdom's strongest positions fall in two areas: security and governance on one side, and actual adoption on the other. Second place for awareness of cybersecurity risks and protection of sensitive data means Saudi companies are not treating AI as merely an experimental tool; they are paying attention to the risks it brings. Fourth place for corporate adoption indicates that usage has moved from discussion to implementation.
By contrast, the relatively lower positions are on the investment side: the Kingdom placed 9th for private-sector investment and 11th for capital investment, which leaves clear room for private companies to grow their investment in this field in the coming period.
What does this mean for Saudi businesses?
- Competition is changing: if the Kingdom is 4th globally in corporate AI adoption, your competitors have most likely already started. Delaying the automation of customer service, sales or reporting is no longer a neutral choice.
- Security before speed: the local environment gives great weight to protecting sensitive data. Any AI project in your company should start with the question: where is customer data stored, who can access it, and with what permissions?
- Trust is capital: the indicators measure public trust, and that applies to your customers too. Being transparent about AI use, such as telling a customer they are talking to an automated assistant, builds trust rather than eroding it.
- A private-investment opportunity: the relatively lower positions in private-sector investment mean the door is still open for companies that move now, before AI becomes a standard everyone expects.
- Skills: 7th place in AI skills is a reminder that tools alone are not enough, and that training the team to use them is part of any successful project.
At Cortex Solutions, we believe the best start for any business is one clear task automated intelligently and securely, then expanding from there. You can learn about our AI business automation services here: https://cortex.sa/services/ai-automation
Sources: Saudi Press Agency via Arab News (November 12, 2026), House of Saud (November 12, 2026), and IMD's World Digital and AI Ranking 2026 page.