9.8 million Saudis receive cash support

The Citizen Account Programme, which helps ease the financial burden on Saudi citizens, announced on Sunday that it had provided cash support of 3 billion riyals during January 2026 to more than 9.8 million eligible Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has a population of around 20 million, according to the General Authority for Statistics, meaning nearly half of the population now receives monthly support.

The Citizen Account Programme was launched in 2017 to help low-income citizens cope with the rising costs of energy products following government price adjustments.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the programme deposited 3 billion riyals on Sunday for January’s support to beneficiaries whose applications were complete. In the 98th payment cycle, more than 9.8 million people met the eligibility criteria.

Abdullah Al-Hajri, the programme’s director of communications, said the total support paid since the programme began exceeds 265 billion riyals, including 2.8 billion riyals in compensation for previous payments. He added that 72 per cent of beneficiaries received support in this cycle, with the average amount per family reaching 1,474 riyals.

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