UN index highlights Saudi Arabia’s advanced quality infrastructure

As quality infrastructure continues to play a vital role in supporting industrial development, trade facilitation and sustainable growth, the Quality Infrastructure for Sustainable Development Index has emerged as a key global benchmarking tool.

Developed by the UN Industrial Development Organization in partnership with the International Network on Quality Infrastructure, the index provides a comprehensive assessment of the maturity and readiness of national quality infrastructure systems.

First released in 2022, the QI4SD Index enables countries to evaluate their quality infrastructure across internationally recognized benchmarks, identify areas for improvement, and align national efforts with sustainable development objectives.

The index focuses on the contribution of quality infrastructure to industry, innovation, consumer protection, environmental sustainability, and international trade.

The QI4SD Index measures quality infrastructure through five integrated dimensions: standardization, metrology, conformity assessment, accreditation, and quality policy.

Together, these dimensions provide a holistic picture of a country’s capacity to support safe markets, competitive industries, and trusted regulatory systems.

The index comprises 38 sub-indicators and allows comparisons across countries by income level, region, and economic size. The importance of the QI4SD Index lies in its value as a practical diagnostic tool for policymakers and regulators.

Strong quality infrastructure enhances confidence in national products and services, supports effective regulation, and improves a country’s attractiveness to investors and trading partners.

This is reflected in the correlation between QI4SD results and other international indicators, such as the Business Ready Index, the Logistics Performance Index, the Global Innovation Index, and the Competitive Industrial Performance Index.

The first dimension, standardization, assesses the extent to which national standards support product safety, quality, and market access.

Internationally, this area is guided by organizations including the International Organization for Standardization, International Electrotechnical Commission, and International Telecommunication Union.

In Saudi Arabia, several national entities — including the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization, Saudi Food and Drug Authority, and Communications, Space and Technology Commission — work in an integrated framework to align national standards with international best practices.

Saudi Arabia has adopted more than 33,000 national standards.

“Saudi Arabia has implemented comprehensive cross-sectoral policies that support quality and regulatory integration.”

Adel Alkeaid

The second dimension, metrology, focuses on the reliability of measurement systems essential for industry, science, and fair trade. Accurate measurement underpins innovation, manufacturing efficiency, and market confidence.

In Saudi Arabia, the National Center for Measurement and Calibration manages and develops the national measurement system and has achieved international recognition in many technical capabilities from the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.

The third dimension, conformity assessment, covers testing, inspection, certification, and verification activities that demonstrate compliance with standards and regulatory requirements. These services are delivered by specialized bodies in both the public and private sectors.

As of 2025, more than 800 conformity assessment bodies in Saudi Arabia are accredited by the Saudi Accreditation Center in accordance with international standards.

The fourth dimension, accreditation, ensures the technical competence and impartiality of conformity assessment bodies and supports international acceptance of test results and certificates.

Globally, accreditation is overseen by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation and International Accreditation Forum, which merged in January 2026 under the Global Accreditation Cooperation.

In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Accreditation Center is the sole authority and holds international recognition.

The fifth dimension, quality policy, examines national legislation, regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and coordination among quality infrastructure institutions.

Saudi Arabia has implemented comprehensive cross-sectoral policies that support quality and regulatory integration.

In the second QI4SD Index released in 2024, Saudi Arabia ranked 20th globally out of 155 countries, first in the Arab world, and first in the Middle East and North Africa — advancing 25 positions compared to the first index.

This achievement reflects the maturity of the Kingdom’s quality infrastructure and the effectiveness of institutional collaboration under Vision 2030.

Saudi Arabia’s performance in the QI4SD Index demonstrates that sustained investment in quality infrastructure is a strategic enabler of competitiveness, trade, innovation, and sustainable economic development.

• Adel Alkeaid is the CEO of the Saudi Accreditation Center.