Riyadh, April 08, 2026, SPA -- The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) held a panel discussion titled “Pulse of Numbers: Statistical Data in the Service of Health” as part of the “Road to Riyadh” events, with the participation of a select group of specialists from the General Authority for Statistics, the Ministry of Health, the Public Health Authority, and the World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

The session discussed the pivotal role of statistical data in supporting decision-making in the healthcare sector by enhancing the quality and reliability of health indicators, developing data governance practices, and strengthening integration among relevant entities, thereby contributing to improving the efficiency of health planning.

The session also addressed the role of advanced technologies in developing healthcare systems and improving data access, during which participants reviewed the most prominent experiences and practices in this field.

Participants further highlighted investment in modern technologies and the qualitative shift it has brought to health data analysis, as well as the role of artificial intelligence, which has become a key element in supporting data-driven health decision-making.

They also noted the advanced levels of international recognition the Kingdom has achieved in health data quality, pointing out that improvements in mortality data quality have contributed to higher life expectancy. They added that health data has helped reshape the understanding of the Kingdom’s health landscape in a more comprehensive way by integrating statistical data with administrative records and by leveraging field surveys to better reflect the population.