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The fifth edition of the Saudi Internet 2025 report issued by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission placed WhatsApp at the forefront of messaging applications in the Kingdom. Male users recorded a 94.4 percent adoption rate while 90.4 percent of females engaged with the platform. Snapchat ranked second overall with particularly strong uptake among women at 88.2 percent compared with 80.2 percent for men. The commission’s findings illustrate distinct gender preferences across social media platforms.
According to the same report, TikTok followed with 77.6 percent usage among females and 76.5 percent among males. YouTube demonstrated higher engagement from men at 81.1 percent against 68.8 percent for women. Instagram registered 42.4 percent among females and 39.5 percent for males. These statistics highlight the continued popularity of short-form video and photo-sharing services alongside traditional messaging tools.
The commission’s data further revealed that 61.3 percent of Saudi internet users spend seven or more hours online each day with the share rising to 63.8 percent among women. Thirty-four point one percent of users logged between three and six hours daily with only 4.6 percent below three hours. Peak activity occurred from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. with Fridays seeing the highest weekly traffic and March the busiest month. The commission noted usage while on the move at 84 percent exceeding home use at 77.5 percent and workplace access at 41.4 percent.
Mobile devices drove 99.6 percent of connections followed by computers at 47.4 percent, tablets at 39.2 percent and other gadgets at 30.7 percent according to the commission report. The most visited websites included Wikipedia, YouTube, Instagram, the Ministry of Education portal, WhatsApp, Absher and ChatGPT. The most searched terms centered on translator tools, government services such as Absher and Noor, educational platforms and the Saudi riyal reflecting integration of digital resources into everyday routines.
Internet penetration reached 99.6 percent in Saudi Arabia per the Communications, Space and Technology Commission with five regions achieving full coverage. Adoption of artificial intelligence applications more than doubled to 45.2 percent among users last year. Monthly mobile data consumption averaged 53 gigabytes per person, roughly triple the worldwide figure, the report showed.
Median mobile download speeds climbed to 216 megabits per second elevating Saudi Arabia among the top five G20 nations in the category. Fixed-line median speeds rose to 151 megabits per second with upload rates at 73 megabits per second. Total data traffic across the Kingdom amounted to 69 million terabytes divided equally between mobile and fixed networks with the Riyadh region contributing the largest share at 30.6 percent.
The commission noted IPv6 protocol activation among 67 percent of users alongside approximately 200 registered Saudi autonomous system numbers. Saudi domain registrations expanded by 18 percent to reach 84,000 during the year. These metrics from the Saudi Internet 2025 report demonstrate the Kingdom’s advancing digital infrastructure and high levels of online engagement.
