Healthcare in Saudi Arabia

Healthcare in Saudi Arabia mainly comprises a national healthcare system with the Ministry of Health (MOH) providing healthcare services via a number of government agencies. There are more than 240 hospitals and 2,000 primary healthcare centers representing 60% of the health services in Saudi Arabia. The MOH provides ambulatory and inpatient care, and services include emergency care, elective care, open-heart surgery, cancer treatment, dialysis and organ transplants. At the same time, there is increased participation from the private sector as well.

Citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia can receive healthcare services from:

  • A public service funded by the Ministry of Health
  • The Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) & the Ministry of Defense and Aviation (MODA) - both are divisions of the military hospital
  • A hospital to treat government employees
  • A sub-specialized referral hospital
  • Private hospitals operating for profit
  • A private hospital focusing on employees from a specific industry 

Let's look at these facilities in detail:

Ministry of Health Facilities

This is where the general public can turn to for treatment. These hospitals are situated in cities and towns all through Saudi Arabia, with the King Saud Medical City in Riyadh being the largest with 1,500 beds and the King Fahd Medical City the second largest with 1,200 beds.  

Military Hospitals

As mentioned earlier, there are two branches of the military hospital in Saudi Arabia for the country's armed forces and their family members - SANG (Saudi Arabian National Guard) and MODA (Ministry of Defense and Aviation).

  • SANG - This is the military branch dealing with internal threats. The SANG hospitals provide care to Saudi Arabian National Guard soldiers and their dependents. These hospitals are:
    • King Abdulaziz Medical City, formerly King Fahad National Guard Hospital, at Riyadh that has 900 beds and also contains the King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital with 600 beds along with a 60-bed ER plus 70 daycare and infusion beds
    • King Abdulaziz Medical City, formerly King Khalid National Guard Hospital, at Jeddah that has 751 beds
    • King Abdulaziz Hospital at Al Ahsa with 300 beds
    • Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Hospital at Medina having 215 beds
    • Imam Abdulrahman Al Faisal Hospital at Dammam with 112 beds
  • MODA - This military department protects the Kingdom from external threats. MODA consists of the Saudi Arabian Army, the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, the Royal Saudi Air Force, and the Royal Saudi Air Defense. The MODA hospitals provide care to MODA soldiers and their dependents. These hospitals include:
    • Prince Sultan Military Medical City (formerly Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital or Riyadh Military Hospital Al Kharj) at Riyadh having more than 1,100 beds
    • Prince Sultan Cardiac Center at Riyadh with174 beds
    • King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital at Jeddah with 420 beds
    • Prince Sultan Hospital for Armed Forces consisting of the Al-Hada Hospital with 400 beds, the Taif Rehabilitation Center with 100 beds and two primary outpatient clinics -Taif Northern Area Armed Forces Hospital (also known as King Khalid Military City) with 307 beds and Hafr al Batin
    • King Abdul Aziz Military City (North West Armed Forces Hospital), Tabuk having 129 beds
    • King Fahd Military Medical Complex, Dhahran with 316 beds
    • Armed Forces Hospital at King AbdulAziz Airbase, Al Khobar having 300 beds
    • Wadi Al-Dawassir Hospital at Wadi Al-Dawassirwith 100 beds
    • Sharurah Armed Forces Hospital at Sharurah with 146 beds

Ministry of the Interior

This service provides care to the police and customs officers and their families along with other members of the Ministry of the Interior. These hospitals include:

  • Security Forces Hospital at Riyadh with 500 beds
  • Security Forces Hospital at Mecca 

Referral Hospitals

These referral hospitals are for treatment of specialized conditions that require specialized care which is not available in the other healthcare centers. These are:

  • King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center-Riyadh Site with over 1000 beds
  • King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center-Jeddah Site with 470 beds
  • King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh having 360 beds
  • Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City, Riyadh having 300 rehabilitation beds

Private Facilities Functioning for Profit

Here is a list of some of the private hospitals functioning in Saudi Arabia:

  • Aldara Hospital & Medical Center, Riyadh
  • Saudi German Hospital, Jeddah
  • Dr. Erfan & Bagedo Hospital, Jeddah
  • Kingdom Hospital, Riyadh
  • SAAD Specialist Hospital (SSH), Al Khobar
  • Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, Jeddah - contracted to Saudi ARAMCO- has 600 beds, making it the largest private hospital in Saudi Arabia

Private Facilities for Specific Industries

  • Saudi ARAMCO Hospital at Dhahran with 405 beds & Saudi ARAMCO Hospital at Al Hasawith 80 beds –these provide care to the Saudi ARAMCO oil company's employees and their family members.
  • Royal Commission Hospitals at the industrial cities of Jubail (on the east coast, around an hour north of the Dhahran-Al Khobar-Dammam tri-cities), and at Yanbu (on the west coast) that provide care to the employees of these industrial cities and their family members.

Healthcare in Saudi Arabia is one of the main focuses of the government in its plans to further expand and diversify the country's economy. The healthcare sector represents a large and growing market in Saudi Arabia with an increasing annual budget allocation, which has more than doubled in the last few years.


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