Live - Abdo Ahmed: The Citizen Account Program, one of the most prominent government initiatives to support citizens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, continued to support Saudi families in facing economic burdens during the year 2024.

According to statistics prepared by Mubasher, the value of the support provided by the program during the year 2024 amounted to about 40.7 billion riyals, compared to 43.3 billion riyals in the year 2023, with a difference of 2.6 billion riyals.

The total support since the launch of the program in December 2017 until December 2024 amounted to about 226 billion riyals, including 2.6 billion riyals in compensation for previous payments.

Royal directive to extend the program
In January 2024, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a directive to extend the Citizen Account Program, with additional support to beneficiaries continuing until the end of 2024. This step came based on consultations with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, in a move aimed at alleviating the economic burdens on Saudi families in the face of economic challenges.
New extension until the end of 2025
On November 25, 2024, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, directed, based on what was submitted by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, to extend the Citizen Account Program until the end of 2025.

Targeted support and efficiency
The Kingdom always seeks to provide support to all its citizens, but the previous support mechanism included all consumers without taking into account the disparity in consumption between them, which prompted it to redirect support through the Citizen Account Program, which focuses on directing benefits to the most deserving groups through direct cash support.
The issue of resource sustainability is one of the most prominent challenges facing the Kingdom in recent years. Previous support for energy and water products encouraged excessive consumption, which led to the waste of these vital resources.
Hence, the Citizen Account Program came as one of the dimensions of the economic transformation in the Kingdom, and aims to achieve social justice in the distribution of government support, and ensure the optimal use of national resources, which enhances their sustainability for future generations without affecting the needs of beneficiaries.
Program objectives
The Citizen Account Program works within a set of goals that it seeks to achieve, the most prominent of which is mitigating the impact of economic reforms that include correcting the prices of energy and water products and imposing a value-added tax on food products.
It also aims to improve the efficiency of government support by developing a comprehensive mechanism to direct benefits and assistance in line with citizens’ effective needs. Promoting rational consumption of resources is one of the central objectives that the program seeks to achieve.
Improving support efficiency and implementing new standards
As part of the ongoing efforts to improve the distribution of support, the Citizen Account Program has decided to apply additional eligibility criteria starting from January 2025. Foremost among these is the application of financial capacity criteria that aim to determine the actual eligibility of each beneficiary based on the monthly income and financial assets owned by him and his family.
The Citizen Account Program explained that these criteria include real estate, vehicles, cash assets, and investment portfolios, in addition to the number of domestic workers. Eligibility limits have also been set so that the financial capacity allowed decreases based on the size of the family.
The programme confirmed that the careful review of eligibility will include field visits to independent individuals to verify the independence of their residence and its conformity with the national address, which enhances the integrity of the programme’s implementation.
The Citizen Account Program allows beneficiaries to submit objections or additional documents supporting their eligibility through the program’s electronic portal or application.