How Nitaqat works, and why this tool asks for your percentage
The statutory starting point is Article 26 of the Labor Law: the percentage of Saudi workers employed by an employer shall not be less than 75 per cent of the total number of his workers, and the Minister may temporarily reduce that percentage where technically or academically qualified workers are lacking or vacancies cannot be filled with nationals. Nitaqat is how that reduction is administered.
Nitaqat Mutawar, the developed programme introduced by Ministerial Decision 182495, published on 11/10/1442 AH, 23 May 2021, changed the shape of the requirement. Fixed size bands were dropped. The minimum Saudisation for each range is now a curve, written in the guide as:
y = m * ln(x) + c
The guide defines y as the minimum Saudisation for the range, x as the total workforce in the entity, ln(x) as the natural logarithm of that total, m as a fixed value for the curve, and c as the intercept. Both m and c sit in Annex 1, one pair per range per consolidated economic activity, and c carries a column for each year of the phase. The guide for the phase running from 2026 publishes those columns for 2026, 2027 and 2028.
That is the reason this page asks you for the percentage instead of printing one. There is no single national figure to print, a figure for one activity is wrong for the next, and any number copied from a third party page goes stale the moment HRSD reissues the annex. Qiwa is the authority: your establishment account carries the live required percentage, your current rate and your range. This calculator does the arithmetic around that figure and nothing more.
One practical note on the official tool. The English guideline points to a ministry page for checking your range electronically, and that link, to mol.gov.sa, no longer resolves. Your range now lives in the Qiwa establishment account.
What counts in the rate
The guideline defines the Saudization Rate, in its spelling, as the total averages of Saudi employees in the entity's branches divided by the total of averages of Saudi employees plus the total averages of expatriate employees, times 100. Three details in that sentence matter for anyone reconciling a spreadsheet with Qiwa.
- It runs on averages, not on today's headcount. The official rate is computed from averages of employees over a period, so it moves more slowly than your payroll does and a hire made this week does not move it by its full weight straight away. The guideline does not state the length of the averaging window. Middle East Briefing describes the current phase as using a 26 week weighted average, which is a secondary source rather than an HRSD text, so treat the window as unconfirmed and read your own figure in Qiwa.
- The entity is the unit, across its branches. The guideline sets the entity as the capacity the Ministry deals with for calculating Saudisation, recruiting expatriate employees and transferring services, and the rate sums averages across the entity's branches.
- GCC nationals are not expatriate employees. The guideline defines an expatriate employee as an employee who is not a GCC citizen and works for an employer in the Kingdom, so a GCC national is outside the expatriate total. The calculator offers an optional field to remove them from the counted workforce on that reading.
The calculator applies your figures as entered. Where an employee category carries a weighting inside Nitaqat, this tool does not model it, because those weightings are not set out in the guideline text used here.
The five ranges and what each one unlocks
The guide keeps five ranges and sets out which ministry services each one can use. Where an establishment sits depends on its rate against the thresholds for its own activity and size, which is why the table below lists services and not percentages. The banding itself is simple: with n as the establishment's rate, n below the Low Green minimum is Red, the Low Green minimum up to the Medium Green minimum is Low Green, and so on to the Platinum minimum and above, which is Platinum. That is the rule the calculator applies to any thresholds you enter.
| Range | Available | Blocked |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum | Apply for new expatriate visas, Change occupations, Renew work permits, Receive sponsorship transfers, Immediate counting | None of the listed services |
| High Green | Apply for new expatriate visas, Change occupations, Renew work permits, Receive sponsorship transfers, Immediate counting | None of the listed services |
| Medium Green | Apply for new expatriate visas, Change occupations, Renew work permits, Receive sponsorship transfers, Immediate counting | None of the listed services |
| Low Green | Renew work permits, Immediate counting | Apply for new expatriate visas, Change occupations |
| Red | None of the listed services | Apply for new expatriate visas, Change occupations, Receive sponsorship transfers, Issue work permits for new expatriate workers, Renew work permits |
Two notes on that table. The guideline lists immediate counting as a service for Low Green and above without defining it in this document, so check what it covers for your establishment in Qiwa. And sponsorship transfers appear here as transfers a Red establishment cannot receive; the practical risk that a Red establishment's own staff can transfer sponsorship away without its consent is described by advisers rather than by the guideline text used here.
The 2026 phase and the Qiwa contract rule
HRSD has announced a new three year phase of the Nitaqat Mutawar programme, starting in 2026 and aimed at localising more than 340,000 additional jobs, with the deputy minister describing targets proposed from analytical studies across sectors and establishments. That announcement, published on 02 Ramadan 1447 AH, 19 February 2026, gives no rates and no commencement date. The procedural guide for the phase does carry the numbers: the same curve, the same five ranges, and an Annex 1 with m and c for each consolidated economic activity for 2026, 2027 and 2028. It does not state a start date either, and this page does not reproduce the annex, because a value read out of context is worse than no value.
The dates around the phase come from advisers rather than from either HRSD document, and this page marks them as such. Middle East Briefing, writing on 15 May 2026, reports that the phase took effect on 16 April 2026 and that the rate is calculated on a 26 week weighted average. EIG Law, reporting an MHRSD announcement on 27 April 2026, states that from 15 April 2026 a Saudi employee counts toward the rate only where the employment contract is documented and authenticated on Qiwa, alongside documentation commitment rates of 85 per cent by 30 April 2026 and 90 per cent by 30 June 2026.
Two secondary claims deserve a caveat. The same article describes the Yellow band as removed in this phase, with establishments that sat in it treated as Red; both HRSD guides used here already run on five ranges, Red through Platinum, with no Yellow among them, so read that as an account of practice and not as a change to the ranges in the guide. It also reports a minimum monthly wage for a Saudi employee to count in full, raised to SAR 4,000, with employees paid below it counted as half a person and higher thresholds set for some professions. Neither HRSD guide used here sets out that weighting, and the calculator does not apply it: it counts every Saudi employee you enter as one. If some of your Saudi employees are paid under the reported threshold, your figure in Qiwa will be lower than the estimate here.
The calculator reflects the contract documentation rule as an optional field set to zero, so nothing changes unless you tell it that some contracts are undocumented. If the position matters to a decision, read it in Qiwa rather than here.
Worked example
An establishment with 120 people, 24 of them Saudi, whose Qiwa account shows a required 30 per cent. Press "Load the worked example" in the calculator to see the same lines live, including the growth table.
| Line | Working | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Current rate | 24 / 120 x 100 | 20% |
| Gap | 30% less 20% | 10 points |
| Roles to convert at today's size | 30% of 120 = 36, less 24 | 12 |
| Net new Saudi hires | (30 x 120 - 100 x 24) / (100 - 30) = 17.14, rounded up | 18 |
| Rate after those hires | 42 / 138 x 100 | 30.43% |
| Add 25 roles, all non-Saudi | 24 / 145 x 100 | 16.55% |
| Saudi share of those 25 roles to hold 30% | 30% of 145 = 43.5, less 24, rounded up | 20 |
The last two rows are the point of the growth table. A hiring plan drawn up without the Saudisation rate in it can move an establishment down a range without a single Saudi employee leaving.
Assumptions and exclusions
- The required percentage and any range thresholds are your inputs, read from Qiwa. This page publishes none of them, because they are set per economic activity and per year through the curve.
- The estimate uses the headcounts you enter. The official rate is computed from averages of employees over a period, so the two will not match exactly, and the length of the period is not stated in the guideline text used here.
- Saudi employees without a documented Qiwa contract, and GCC nationals, are optional deductions, off by default. Both come from a source named on this page rather than from a rule invented here.
- No weighting is applied to any employee category. Every Saudi employee you enter counts as one, so the reported half counting of employees paid below the minimum monthly wage, and any other weighting, is not modelled here.
- The tool does not classify your economic activity, does not read your establishment size band, does not connect to Qiwa or HRSD, and does not apply the rules for very small establishments.
- Professional localisation decisions that require a specific occupation to be filled by a Saudi national sit outside Nitaqat and outside this tool.
- Nothing here is a compliance certificate. Your range in Qiwa governs which ministry services you can use.
How Axion People tracks the rate
In Axion, the People box holds nationality, contract and branch on the employee record, so the Saudi share of the workforce can be reported at any point and a hiring plan can be tested against it before the offers go out. It sits in the same box as payroll runs, GOSI and end of service accruals, in Arabic and English. Axion reports the figure from your own records; it does not read your range from Qiwa and does not file anything with HRSD.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Saudisation percentage calculated?
The HRSD procedural guideline defines the Saudization Rate as the total averages of Saudi employees in the entity's branches divided by the total of averages of Saudi employees plus the total averages of expatriate employees, times 100. Two things follow. It runs on averages of employees over a period rather than one day's headcount, and an expatriate employee is defined as an employee who is not a GCC citizen, so GCC nationals are not part of the expatriate total. This calculator works on the headcounts you enter, so treat it as an estimate of the official figure in Qiwa.
What are the Nitaqat bands and what does each one allow?
Nitaqat Mutawar uses five ranges: Red, Low Green, Medium Green, High Green and Platinum. The guideline lists new expatriate visas, occupation changes, work permit renewals, sponsorship transfers in and immediate counting as available to Medium Green, High Green and Platinum. Low Green keeps work permit renewals and immediate counting but cannot apply for new visas or change occupations. Red has none of them: no new visas, no occupation changes, no sponsorship transfers in, no work permits issued for new expatriate workers and no work permit renewals.
Where do I find the required Saudisation percentage for my company?
In your Qiwa establishment account. Nitaqat Mutawar dropped fixed size bands in 2021 and sets the minimum for each range from the curve y = m times the natural logarithm of the number of employees, plus c, where m is a fixed value for the curve that differs by range and by economic activity, and c is an intercept that differs by range, by economic activity and by year. Both are published per consolidated activity in the annex to the procedural guide, with a column for each year of the current phase, so there is no single national percentage, and any figure quoted on a third party page is either an average or out of date.
How many Saudi employees do I need to hire to close the gap?
More than the headline gap suggests, because each Saudi hire adds one to the Saudi count and one to the workforce at the same time. An establishment of 120 people with 24 Saudi employees is at 20 per cent. Against a required 30 per cent it is 12 roles short at today's size, but it needs 18 net new Saudi hires to get there, because the workforce grows to 138 as it hires. Converting an existing role and adding a role are different numbers, and the calculator shows both.
Do Saudi employees count if the contract is not documented on Qiwa?
Advisers reporting an MHRSD announcement say that from 15 April 2026 a Saudi employee counts toward the rate only where the employment contract is documented and authenticated on Qiwa. The calculator has an optional field for undocumented contracts so you can see the effect, and it is set to zero by default. Confirm the position and your own documentation rate in your Qiwa account before acting on it.
Is Saudisation not 75 per cent under the Labor Law?
Article 26 of the Labor Law says the percentage of Saudi workers employed by an employer shall not be less than 75 per cent of the total number of his workers, and lets the Minister temporarily reduce that percentage where suitably qualified workers are unavailable or vacancies cannot be filled with nationals. Nitaqat is how the Ministry sets the reduced percentage in practice, by activity and by size, which is why the figure in your Qiwa account is far below 75 per cent for most activities.
Related tools and guides
- GOSI calculator, for the contribution on each Saudi hire you add here, including the new entrant schedule.
- Emiratisation calculator, the same gap question for the UAE, where the target and the contribution per unfilled position are published nationally.
- Saudi end of service calculator, for the award under Articles 84 and 85 of the Labor Law.
- Choosing an ERP in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the buyer's guide for teams running payroll in both markets.
- All Axion tools, the Axion features and the Axion FAQ.
Sources
All sources checked on 5 September 2026.
- HRSD, the procedural guide for the Nitaqat Mutawar programme in force for the phase running from 2026 (Arabic): the same five ranges, the same curve and the Annex 1 values of m and c per economic activity for 2026, 2027 and 2028
- HRSD, Procedural Guideline, Nitaqat Mutawar Program, Version 2.0 (English): the five ranges, the services per range, the definition of the Saudization Rate, the curve y = m * ln(x) + c and the worked example this page checks its arithmetic against
- HRSD, Ministerial Decision 182495 dated 11/10/1442 AH, 23 May 2021 (Arabic): the decision that introduced the developed Nitaqat programme
- HRSD, Labor Law (Royal Decree M/51), English text: Article 26 on the percentage of Saudi workers and the Minister's power to reduce it
- HRSD, Ministry of Human Resources announces the launch of a new phase of the Nitaqat Mutawar Program, published 02 Ramadan 1447 AH, 19 February 2026: a three year phase from 2026 aimed at more than 340,000 additional jobs
- Qiwa, the Ministry's establishment platform: the authority for your live required percentage, your rate and your range
- Middle East Briefing, Saudi Arabia's Nitaqat 2026 update, 15 May 2026 (secondary): the reported 16 April 2026 start, a 26 week weighted average, and reported salary thresholds for a Saudi employee to count in full
- EIG Law, Saudi Arabia Saudization updates: Qiwa contract documentation impacts Nitaqat calculations (secondary, reporting an MHRSD announcement): Saudi contracts documented on Qiwa from 15 April 2026
This calculator gives an estimate from the figures you enter. It is not legal advice, it is not an HRSD or Qiwa tool, and it publishes no required percentage for any activity. The official rate is computed by the Ministry from averages of employees over a period, and your live rate, range and required percentage are in your Qiwa establishment account. Check any figure there, or with a qualified adviser, before relying on it.