Healthcare contributes 5% to GDP: Al-Jalajel

Fahad Al-Jalajel, Minister of Health

Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister Fahad Al-Jalajel said healthcare’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) reached 5%, with service coverage in the Kingdom hitting 97.4%.

Speaking at the 2026 Budget Forum, he noted that 1,700 government hospital beds were added this year, alongside 2,900 from the private sector.

He highlighted improvements in public healthcare, including a 60% drop in road-traffic fatalities since 2016, a 50% decline in deaths from communicable diseases, 40% from non-communicable diseases, and a 30% reduction in unintentional injury deaths.

Al-Jalajel emphasized that the Saudi citizen has been the main focus since Vision 2030, with initiatives launched to support healthcare clusters, reform payment models, and strengthen the sector overall.