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Geographic Information Systems
This section displays Saudi Arabia’s efforts to provide geospatial information and systems, interactive maps related to health, education, environment, roads, airports, and water, while also providing access to the interactive map of the General Authority for Statistics to learn about available services across all regions of Saudi Arabia. It will also provide information about the Renewable Resources Atlas e-service, developed by King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, in addition to the national spatial data infrastructure, which affects the quality of life and sustainable development.
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Saudi Arabia believes in the importance of geospatial information in decision-making, and its impact on the quality of life, and the achievement of sustainable development plans of Vision 2030. Therefore, it was keen to cover the main areas related to geospatial information, namely:
- Trends in geospatial information management.
- Future digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and big
- data, technical analytical data, future trends in data creation.
Saudi Arabia also seeks to:
- Manage and develop policies and legislation
- Fulfill skills requirements and training mechanisms
- Encourage the role of the private and non-governmental sectors
- Identify the future role of governments in the provision and management of geospatial data, as well as in the requirements of future users.
National Geospatial Strategy
The National Geospatial Strategy seeks to provide a clear vision, formulate achievable goals and draw a road map for Saudi Arabia for geospatial empowerment in order to ensure maximum benefits from integrated geospatial information and knowledge in all sectors, through many initiatives. The goals of this strategy include:
- Supporting the national digital transformation and economy.
- Enhancing joint action to benefit from integrated geospatial information.
- Supporting and enabling the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and other national strategies.
- Encouraging and supporting innovation and creativity in the geospatial information sector.
- Accelerating economic growth and improving productivity and technical progress in all sectors.
- Benefiting from applicable global best practices in the field of geospatial information.
- Supporting national initiatives for sustainable development.
- Protecting Saudi Arabia’s resources and environment.
- Building national capacities and skills and increasing job opportunities in the sector.
- Key performance indicators and critical success factors for the geospatial roadmap.
- Enhancing and enriching the national geospatial platform to be the national source of information.
Challenges and opportunities for GIS in Saudi Arabia:
- Cyber-security: With the increasing reliance on geospatial data, there is an urgent need to enhance cyber-security measures. There must be effective strategies to protect this information from potential threats, which requires the development of advanced security systems that ensure data integrity.
The National Geospatial Platform
The General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information has developed the National Geospatial Platform, which allows users to register to access various national geospatial data layers related to:
- Planning and development
- Agricultural environment
- Transportation, security, and safety
- Social, health, educational, cultural, commercial services, and land parcels
This is facilitated through an interactive dashboard and statistical data, and users can connect to this platform through various software.
Open data is data that anyone can freely use without technical, financial, or legal restrictions. It can also be reused and distributed, as long as the requirements of the open data license under which it is published are adhered to. This data aims to enhance transparency, encourage public participation, and stimulate innovation by making data available to everyone.
The National Geospatial Infrastructure Platform aims to maximize the benefits of unifying and integrating geospatial data initiatives through a national geospatial system and database for data available from all government entities. It facilitates the easy and secure utilization and sharing of this data in accordance with a specific publication policy that preserves rights and enhances data security.
National Geospatial Data Policies
The Authority has developed several policies for national geospatial data in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including data classification, sharing mechanisms, protection, and the regulation of licenses and pricing. These policies were developed in alignment with the geospatial data governance framework from the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information, as well as the national data governance policies issued by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, and the cybersecurity controls from the National Cybersecurity Authority.
The geospatial authority offers commercial establishments a licensing service, which entitles the establishment to practice one of the activities specified in the license in accordance with the provisions, regulations, and conditions for practicing geospatial and surveying activities.
The General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information offers permits for conducting aerial photography and surveying, hydrographic marine surveying, panoramic photography, and similar technologies, in compliance with the regulations and conditions governing geospatial work permits.
The National Geospatial Information Incubator Environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
A comprehensive and interconnected system that uses full compliance technology and artificial intelligence to dynamically adapt to changing conditions. It is user-centric and offers various services, including cybersecurity, governance, legal security, and trust-building.
Geospatial Information
Saudi Arabia recognizes the usefulness of geospatial information in decision-making and its impact on quality of life, as well as the achievement of Vision 2030. These goals encompass a review of responsible production and consumption, climate conservation, marine life, wildlife, peace, justice, strong institutions, and partnerships to achieve these goals. Therefore, Saudi Arabia is eager to cover the major geospatial information-related matters, namely: -
- Trends in geospatial information management
- Future digital infrastructure
- Artificial intelligence and big data
- Technical analytical data, future trends in data creation
- Management and development of policies and legislation
- Skills requirements and training mechanisms
- The role of the private and non-governmental sectors.
- The future role of governments in providing and managing geospatial data, and future users requirements.
Saudi Geological Survey
Topographic maps: They are concerned with studying the vast lands and terrain of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and other details, including, but not limited to:
- Urban population clusters.
- Isolated rural buildings.
- Transportation networks and facilities, their distances, and destinations.
- Communication and electricity networks and facilities.
- Industrial and agricultural establishments.
- Cultivated areas
- Water resources and natural drainage facilities and establishments.
- Vegetation cover, natural features, and terrain.
- Elevations above sea level in meters.
- Names of places and landmarks, and natural and industrial phenomena.
The National Tide Gauge Network: This network provides tidal monitoring data during marine surveys, and then conducts analyses and uses special programs to give accurate future values of astronomical tides, and in turn, these data play an important role in defining maritime borders between countries, such as determining the baseline, the coast, the borders of regional, economic, and international waters, and the determination of the islands and their areas.
The National Network of Continuous GPS Monitoring Stations: It aims to provide an accurate and reliable positioning services across Saudi Arabia, as well as calculate, publish and maintain the KSA-GRF17 National Geodetic Reference
The Saudi Geological Survey
This database serves as a reliable repository for national geological and topographical information in the Kingdom, provided by the Saudi Geological Survey. It covers areas such as geological maps, geological survey maps, geoengineering maps, spatial information, geographic information systems, earth sciences databases, remote sensing, earthquakes, volcanoes, and other data that contribute to expanding knowledge and making correct developmental decisions.
National Geological Database Web Portal
Reliable national geological and topographic data repository for the whole kingdom of Saudi Arabia including geological and topographic maps, Mineral Occurrences Documentation System (MODS), geochemistry and geophysics data, borehole data, surface samples data and more.
Seismic Activity Monitoring Portal
The national network for earthquakes and volcanoes covers all parts of Saudi Arabia, and the stations are concentrated in the west of Saudi Arabia, where most seismic activities occur in addition to the presence of hazards. Stations were installed extensively in the north of Yanbu city in the Harrat al-Shaqa region, with the aim of monitoring earthquakes related to the recent tectonic volcano problem in the region. The network can monitor earthquakes of less than two degrees to determine the place of occurrence in any region of the Saudi Arabia.
Municipal and Local Maps
The Balady platform, affiliated with Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, provides various services related to municipalities across different regions of the Kingdom, including municipal and local maps. These maps allow users to view services and roads, urban boundaries, neighborhoods, and municipal borders, with the ability to print them, display coordinates of any location by clicking on it, and share locations with others through the map.
For more information and to view the data, click here.
National Address
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has adopted the digital address system and developed the national address (Saudi Post - SPL) to represent a unique and unified spatial identity for each building and facility in the various regions and cities of Saudi Arabia. It is an addressing system that represents the geographical footprint of all members of society, whether citizens or residents, in addition to facilities. It helps in accurately determining the location, which facilitates access to individuals, an ambulance or shipments of goods. Its uses include delivering passports, national identity cards, driving licenses and other services that connect the beneficiary to the outside world correctly.
National Statistical Transformation
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is witnessing a national transformation towards economic and social expansion, a massive data and information revolution, and continuous leaps in technology and its solutions. The beginning was the transformation of the General Authority for Statistics and Information into an independent General Authority for Statistics, with administrative and financial independence by Royal order No. (64283) dated 26/12/1436 AH. This marked the start of a phase of responding to changes and meeting the needs of public and private entities for data that supports current and future national development processes, unifying information sources, making them easily accessible, and providing more innovative statistical products, as well as establishing effective partnerships with all data users.
General Authority for statistics
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) is a government entity with an independent legal personality. GASTAT’s board of directors is chaired by His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Planning, and consists of the following members: Ministers of Energy, Finance, Human Resources and Social Development, Education, and Industry and Mineral Resources. In addition to the Director of National Information Center, President of the General Authority for Statistics, and two other members specialized in the statistical field.
GASTAT is the only official statistical reference for implementing, supervising, and regulating the statistical work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It provides statistical products in social, economic, and environmental fields to support policymakers and decision-makers in advancing the implementation of development plans.
Business Atlas | Monshaat
A comprehensive information program that provides diverse and documented data of a geographical nature, including continuously updated historical information, to support small and medium enterprises and start-ups, as well as entrepreneurs. It serves as a reliable source that supports them in making their decisions and writing their future plans. To learn more, click here.
Atlas Renewable Energy Resources
An electronic service provided by King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy that enables individual users, investment companies from around the world, and government agencies to obtain historical geographic data and modern climate information on weather phenomena, especially with regard to solar and wind energy sources for the various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Official Map of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
A map that provides users with a reliable national reference for general purpose applications, and is intended to be used for strategic planning, feature location and identification.
For more information (click here)
Riyadh Maps
Spatial portal of the Riyadh region: These maps provide a rich set of spatial data and information, the results of studies, research, and electronic services, in the urban, environmental, service fields, transportation, disaster risk management and urban security, to support policy makers, decision makers, planners, researchers and scholars in government agencies, the private sector, civil society institutions, and residents of the Riyadh region in various development fields. Historical maps include: base maps, hydrographic, satellite and aerial photographs, land use, building systems, strategic plans, population, education and income, transportation and traffic, urban security, public utilities and services, environment, water and climate.
The Digital Map of the Building Regulations and Land Use in Riyadh: An interactive map provided by the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh, which enables the beneficiary to view the unified digital map of the building regulations and land use in the city, which provides information on the plot of land, the plot number, the controls and requirements and uses.
Geographical and Environmental Explorer for Riyadh: An electronic service provided by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, which enables the beneficiary to view a detailed geographical guide for the city of Riyadh.
Telecom Coverage Maps
It is an electronic service provided by the Communications and Information Technology Commission, which provides an interactive map that enables users to inquire about the types of telecommunications and Internet services (such as: third generation, fourth generation, fifth generation, optical fiber, and fixed phone), and the level of coverage for these services from operators and service providers in the Kingdom. It also enables the user to evaluate the level of services and measure the speed and experience of the Internet. To benefit from this service, click here.
Maps of Schools and Special Education Centers
Educational Map - Schools
Interactive maps provided by the Ministry of Education to show the locations of schools and educational facilities in Saudi Arabia by region, governorate, gender (governmental, private, foreign education), and education system. It is also possible to view the sites of special education schools for students with special needs.
Educational Map - Institutes and Special Education Programs
Interactive maps provided by the Ministry of Education to show the locations of schools, institutes and programs for special education and people with special needs in various education departments in Saudi Arabia, covering all educational levels from kindergarten to secondary school, and they include both genders.
Maps of Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities
Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities
Interactive maps provided by the Ministry of Health to show the locations of hospitals, health centers, maternity centers, centers for people with special needs, mental health hospitals, and others.
Interactive Platform for Coronavirus (Covid-19) Data
An interactive platform developed by the Ministry of Health, which allows the viewing of the numbers of daily cases of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia, including those who have recovered, new infections, critical cases, examinations, intensive care cases, and others. The platform also allows viewing cumulative data of cases of injury, recovery, death, and others, and connection of the API to other platforms and entities.
Transportation Maps
Transportation Maps
Marsad Platform
The National Road Safety Center, which is one of the initiatives of the National Transformation Program, has built a digital information platform called the "Road Safety Observatory" or Marsad Platform, to be a supportive and reinforcing nucleus of the existing efforts to improve the level of road safety in Saudi Arabia. The observatory aims to enable decision makers to take effective measures in real time, to reduce the problems affecting the safety of road users, by employing the latest artificial intelligence techniques in collecting and analyzing road accident data and information, and linking data from its various sources, such as: accident data, traffic, and medical data. The observatory provides the possibility of issuing two types of digital maps, the first is maps of dangerous sites in which accidents accumulate remarkably, or what is known as “accident hotspot” maps, which were previously known as “black points”, by adopting modern engineering methods. The second map is a predictive digital map that enables specialists to identify sites with high risks as a proactive measure to address them.
Road Map
A map showing the road network in Saudi Arabia contains information about the main cities and villages, the road network, its numbers, distances and directions, as well as a table of distances between major cities, and the frequently used warning signs on the roads.
Saudi Airports
The General Authority of Civil Aviation provides an interactive map that enables the user to view the distribution of airports in Saudi Arabia according to geographical areas. The map includes information about the type of airport, whether international or domestic, making it easier for users to understand the aviation infrastructure in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Services
Geographic information systems
The service represents the availability of electronic applications in the web environment for use by specialists and for exchanging information with the relevant authorities.
The service represents analysis and improvement of satellite images by specialists to produce accurate maps and data that explain The service represents analysis and improvement of satellite images by specialists to produce accurate maps and data that explain
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