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Languages

Languages of Saudi Arabia

RiyadhLocal time

Languages, writing systems and language context

المملكة العربية السعودية
COUNTRY LANGUAGE PROFILE
العربية
Arabic
Text direction: RTL

Saudi Arabia's Basic Law states that Arabic is the language of the Kingdom. This page therefore keeps Arabic as the national core language without assigning the same statutory status to other languages used by residents.

1
Core language shown
Country-level reference set
Arabic
First listed core language
Not a speaker-share estimate
1
Writing system represented
Across the core language set
RTL
Primary text direction
Additional directions noted below

Language Overview

Arabic

Read the Characters

Arabic · 28 characters

Arabic · 28 characters
ا
a
ب
b
ت
t
ث
th
ج
j
ح
ḥ
خ
kh
د
d
ذ
dh
ر
r
ز
z
س
s
ش
sh
ص
ṣ
ض
ḍ
ط
ṭ
ظ
ẓ
ع
ʿ
غ
gh
ف
f
ق
q
ك
k
ل
l
م
m
ن
n
ه
h
و
w
ي
y

How to Read the Language Landscape

PolicyLegal and administrative language status may differ between national and subnational government.
Everyday useA language can be socially dominant without being the only language used at home, school, work or in media.
Community diversityIndigenous, minority, migrant and sign languages can remain important even when they are not part of a short national headline list.

Frequently Asked Questions

What languages are used in Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia's Basic Law states that Arabic is the language of the Kingdom. This page therefore keeps Arabic as the national core language without assigning the same statutory status to other languages used by residents.

What writing systems are used in Saudi Arabia?

The represented writing system is Arabic and the primary direction shown is right to left.

More about Saudi Arabia

Explore Saudi Arabia across the other DigifyWorld country-data sections.

Public HolidaysPublic holidays 2026 and 2027→Digital AdoptionInternet, payments and digital government→Population & DemographicsPopulation, age structure and projections→Economy SnapshotGDP, trade and economic structure→Currency & ExchangeCurrency, exchange rates and money→Human DevelopmentHDI and quality-of-life indicators→Geography & EnvironmentLand, climate and environment→Practical Country InfoTime, driving, electricity and codes→EducationSchool system and education data→

Sources & methodology

View sources used for this page
Saudi Bureau of Experts: Basic Law of Governance

Primary Saudi legal source. Article 1 states that the language of the Kingdom is Arabic.

Unicode CLDR: Country/Region Names

Localized country display-name reference. CLDR names are customary UI/display names, not claims about a state’s full constitutional long-form name.

Unicode: Supported Scripts

Reference for the writing-system/script families represented in the character component.

Unicode: Writing Direction and Bidirectional Text

Reference for left-to-right and right-to-left script direction and bidirectional text behavior.

Unicode Character Database: NamesList

Reference for Unicode character names used as small readout labels under selected character samples; these labels are not presented as a complete transliteration standard.