Saudi Arabia
Country or regionNo national statutory minimum wageGlobal rank #23 of 77
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Minimum wage (gross)
Source: Saudi Gazette (reporting Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development / Nitaqat ministerial decision) · effective Apr 18, 2021
Saudi Gazette (reporting Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development / Nitaqat ministerial decision)Saudi Arabia has NO universal statutory minimum wage applying to most adult full-time workers. It operates a dual system: (1) Saudi nationals in the private sector have a reference floor of SAR 4,000/month, but this is a Saudization (Nitaqat) compliance threshold administered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, not a conventional labour-law minimum — a Saudi paid below SAR 4,000 simply does not count fully toward the employer's Nitaqat quota (SAR 3,000-4,000 counts as half). (2) Expatriate/foreign workers, who make up the MAJORITY of the private-sector workforce, have NO statutory minimum wage; pay is set entirely by contract (registered via Qiwa/WPS). The SAR 4,000/month figure reported here is the relevant reference rate for Saudi nationals only — chosen as the closest reportable reference. It was raised from SAR 3,000 by ministerial decision in Nov 2020, taking legal effect 18 April 2021, and has remained SAR 4,000 since. Some professions have higher Nitaqat thresholds (e.g. Saudi engineers ~SAR 8,000/month). Public-sector minimum is reported around SAR 3,000/month. Standard statutory working time in KSA is 48 hours/week (8h/day, 6 days; reduced to 36h during Ramadan for Muslim workers). Corroborated by WageIndicator/wage.is which lists SAR 4,000/month as the headline minimum.
Big Mac price: The Economist · Jan 1, 2026