// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Riyadh?

Riyadh scores 58.6% against the DC20 smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #78 of 213 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

58.6%

Rank

#78 / 213

Criteria present

39 / 82

Evidence coverage

69.5%

Riyadh's smart city score by area

Data & Digital Foundation68%

9 present · 9 partial · 2 absent · 1 not assessed

Mobility42%

2 present · 1 partial · 3 absent · 10 not assessed

Environment & Resources83%

8 present · 4 partial · 0 absent · 5 not assessed

Governance & People84%

15 present · 2 partial · 2 absent · 1 not assessed

Economy & Method86%

5 present · 2 partial · 0 absent · 1 not assessed

Where Riyadh is strong

  • Digital Government / e-Services
  • Digital Inclusion & Literacy
  • Outcome Measurement & KPIs
  • Resilience & Climate Adaptation
  • Data Governance, Privacy & Ethics

Where the gaps are

  • EV & Active-Travel Infrastructure
  • Real-time Public Transit Intelligence
  • Smart Traffic & Adaptive Signals
  • Smart Energy & Buildings
  • Digital Twin

Evidence highlights

Open Data by Default · Open APIs / programmatic access

The Royal Commission for Riyadh City's open data portal provides an API for programmatic access to its data.

https://data.rcrc.gov.sa/pages/api/

Open Data by Default · Open licensing & terms

Saudi Arabia has an official "Open Data Policy" from the National Data Management Office, which would define clear licensing and reuse terms for open data.

https://ndmo.gov.sa/en/PoliciesAndRegulations/Policies/List%20of%20Policies/Open%20Data%20Policy.pdf

City Data Platform / Urban Data Exchange · Central data platform / urban OS

Riyadh has an 'Urban Data Center' and a data portal, indicating the presence of a central data platform for the city.

https://www.alriyadh.gov.sa/ar/urban-data-center/

Smart Traffic & Adaptive Signals · Real-time traffic/incident data

Riyadh has official open data portals from the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and the Riyadh Municipality, indicating the availability of open data, which likely includes real-time traffic and incident information.

https://opendata.rcrc.gov.sa/

About this assessment

Riyadh 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.