Licensed Statistician Application

Step 1.Education

An applicant must hold a degree from an accredited university, or a Saudi Ministry of Education–approved foreign equivalent, as follows:

• Foundation Certificate
  • Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, or a closely related field
  • Minimum 30 semester hours (or 45 quarter hours) of statistics-focused coursework, including probability, inference, and regression
  • Minimum 15 semester hours of quantitative coursework in mathematics or computing
• Specialized Certificate
  • All Foundation requirements, and
  • Either a Master’s degree in a statistical discipline or three (3) years of verified professional statistical practice in the chosen specialty
• Practitioner Certificate
  • All Specialized requirements, and
  • Five (5) years of progressive professional experience applying statistics at a national, governmental, or enterprise level

Degrees issued outside Saudi Arabia must be accompanied by a Ministry of Education equivalency report.

Step 2.Training

Before submitting the application, candidates must complete the mandatory preparatory training for their desired certification level:

• Foundation – “Fundamentals of Applied Statistics in the Kingdom” (self-study or an approved provider)
• Specialized – One specialty course aligned with the selected track (e.g., Survey Methodology, Econometrics, Data Science)
• Practitioner – A leadership workshop on statistical governance plus a specialty capstone project

A directory of approved training partners is available on the GASTAT Training Portal.

Step 3.Exam

All applicants must pass the Saudi Statistical Certification Examination administered by ETEC/Qiyas:

• Foundation Exam – 120 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, passing score ≥ 70 percent
• Specialized Exam – 100 scenario-based questions in the chosen specialty, 2.5 hours, passing score ≥ 75 percent
• Practitioner Assessment – Oral defense of a statistical case study before a GASTAT panel, graded Pass/Fail

Exam bookings open once your eligibility documents and fees are approved.

Step 4.Experience

Specialized and Practitioner applicants must upload an Experience Verification Form signed by a licensed Practitioner or by a department head at a recognized statistical agency or analytics division.

• Specialized – Minimum 3,000 hours of specialty-relevant work in the past five (5) years
• Practitioner – Minimum 5,000 hours of senior-level, supervisory, or research work in statistics over the past eight (8) years

Self-employment may be counted only if corroborated by client attestations and project deliverables.

Step 5.Fees

• Application & eligibility review – SAR 500
• Foundation exam – SAR 800
• Specialized exam – SAR 1,200
• Practitioner assessment – SAR 1,800
• Annual renewal (all levels) – SAR 400

Fees are payable online via Mada, SADAD, or international credit card. All fees are non-refundable once eligibility is confirmed.

Step 6.Continuing Education & Renewal

Licensees must complete 30 continuing professional education (CPE) hours every 12 months (including at least two hours on Saudi data governance standards) to renew their certificate. Renewal opens 60 days before expiry.

Step 7.Apply Online