Nitaqat calculator

Saudi Arabia

Pick your activity to see your band, the minimum rate it requires, and how many Saudi hires move you to the next one.

Establishment activity

The required rate depends on activity and headcount together.

Saudi employees

Expatriate workers

Required rate %

A figure specific to your establishment — steps below the tool.

Result

Enter your headcount to see the ratio.

The calculation runs in your browser; nothing about your company is sent anywhere.

Where to find your required rate

Sign in to Qiwa with the establishment account.
Open “Nitaqat” under establishment services.
It shows your current band and the minimum rate for the next one.
Copy that rate into the field above and the tool gives you the exact gap.

Open Qiwa →

The calculation — and where it goes wrong

The formula is simple; "how many do I need" is not, and that is where people trip.

The rate

Saudi employees divided by total headcount, times one hundred.

The common error

20 Saudis out of 100 aiming for 30% is not 10 hires but 15 — each hire lifts both the numerator and the denominator.

The other route

The rate can also be reached by reducing non-Saudi headcount. The tool shows both figures.

Small establishments

Five workers or fewer: one Saudi employee is the requirement. The logarithmic formula applies from six upward.

When you need it

Checking the rate before a visa request or a transfer of services
Sizing the hiring plan to move up a band
Weighing Saudi hiring against reducing expatriate headcount
Simulating a hire or a resignation before it happens

Common questions

How is the rate calculated?

Saudi employees divided by total headcount (Saudi and non-Saudi), times one hundred.

How is my band’s minimum rate calculated?

Nitaqat Motawar replaced the old fixed table with a curve, so the rate is computed rather than looked up: rate = m × ln(n) + c, where n is total headcount and m and c are constants for each activity, band and year, published in Annex 1 of the ministry’s procedural guide. That is why the tool asks for your activity: the required rate moves with size — it rises for most activities, and falls for construction and cleaning, whose curve constant is negative.

How many hires from 20% to 30%?

With 20 Saudis and 80 non-Saudis: 15 hires, not 10. The formula is (rate × headcount − Saudis) ÷ (1 − rate).

Is the band shown here my official band?

The tool applies the official formula to the published thresholds for an entity of your activity and size. Your Qiwa file, though, knows what the tool cannot: your registered activity code, grace periods, subsidiary structure and the headcounts it actually counts. Where they differ, Qiwa governs. If your activity is not listed, choose “Other activity” and enter the rate by hand.

Is my company data stored?

No. Everything runs in your browser.

Rates are computed with the Nitaqat Motawar formula and the Annex 1 constants published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development for 2026. The tool does not read your establishment’s file and does not replace Qiwa, which is the only official source.

For employers

Tracking Saudization in a spreadsheet?

The rate moves with every hire and every resignation; tracked by hand, you always know it late. We connect HR systems to payroll so the indicators calculate themselves.

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