// CITY_ASSESSMENT
How smart is Al Khobar?
Al Khobar scores 41.4% against the DC20 smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #148 of 213 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.
Smart score
41.4%
Rank
#148 / 213
Criteria present
26 / 82
Evidence coverage
48.8%
Al Khobar's smart city score by area
6 present · 3 partial · 3 absent · 9 not assessed
0 present · 1 partial · 0 absent · 15 not assessed
4 present · 6 partial · 1 absent · 6 not assessed
13 present · 4 partial · 1 absent · 2 not assessed
3 present · 0 partial · 2 absent · 3 not assessed
Where Al Khobar is strong
- ▸Digital Government / e-Services
- ▸Citizen Engagement & Participation
- ▸Open Data by Default
- ▸Interoperability & Open Standards
- ▸Air-Quality & Climate Monitoring
Where the gaps are
- ▸City Data Platform / Urban Data Exchange
- ▸Real-time Public Transit Intelligence
- ▸Smart Water & Waste
- ▸Innovation Ecosystem
- ▸Smart Energy & Buildings
Evidence highlights
Open Data by Default · Open APIs / programmatic access
The national open data portal (data.gov.sa) provides guidelines for 'real-time-api', indicating programmatic access to data.
https://data.gov.sa/ar/pages/guidelines/real-time-apiInteroperability & Open Standards · Open data standards
Saudi Arabia has an official open government data portal and a digital transformation initiative for open government data, indicating the adoption of open data principles and implied standards.
https://www.my.gov.sa/wps/portal/snp/pages/digitaltransformation/opengovdataInteroperability & Open Standards · Standardised APIs & schemas
Saudi Arabia's Digital Government Authority has implemented a regulatory framework, policies, and controls for digital government platforms, including a Government Service Bus (GSB) and technology integration initiatives, indicating the use of standardized …
https://www.dga.gov.sa/media/2j200vns/digital-government-regulatory-framework-v2-0-en.pdfInteroperability & Open Standards · Vendor-neutral procurement
Saudi Arabia has a national guideline for free and open-source government software systems, which promotes vendor-neutral procurement to avoid lock-in.
https://www.my.gov.sa/wps/portal/snp/pages/digitaltransformation/freeandopensourceAbout this assessment
Al Khobar was assessed against the 82 criteria of the DC20 smart city framework on 2026-06-26 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, and every finding links to where it was found — see how smart cities are measured. Scores refresh continuously as cities publish new evidence.