Alpha Consultancy
Legal forms · Q2 2026

How many branches of foreign companies are in Saudi Arabia?

A branch lets a foreign company operate in Saudi Arabia under its own legal identity instead of incorporating a subsidiary. The parent stays fully liable for the branch, and a MISA licence is required first.

3,497

active registrations — 0.2% of all commercial registrations in the Kingdom.

Ministry of Commerce data · Q2 2026

There are 3,497 active branches of foreign companies in Saudi Arabia as of 30 June 2026, 0.2% of all active commercial registrations. 34 were created in Q2 2026 and still active at quarter end — 0.1% of new registrations.

Riyadh (2,342), Makkah (574) and the Eastern Province (488) hold the most, together 97.3% of the national total.

Active registrations
3,497
0.2% of all CRs
Registered in Q2 2026
34
0.1% of new registrations
Largest region
Riyadh
2,342 registrations
Regions present
12
of 13

By region

Active registrations by region

  1. Riyadh2,34267%
  2. Makkah57416.4%
  3. Eastern Province48814%
  4. Madinah431.2%
  5. Tabuk220.6%
  6. Qassim90.3%
  7. Jazan70.2%
  8. Asir40.1%
  9. Hail40.1%
  10. Al Jouf20.1%
  11. Northern Borders1<0.1%
  12. Al Baha1<0.1%

Where it is most common

Share of each city's active registrations

  1. Khobar0.6%282
  2. Dhahran0.4%15
  3. Riyadh0.4%2,333
  4. Jeddah0.2%520
  5. Dammam0.2%138
  6. Rabigh0.2%5
  7. Khafji0.1%6
  8. Tabuk0.1%20
  9. Jubail0.1%34
  10. Yanbu0.1%8
Who can use it

Any foreign company holding a MISA investment licence.

Opening a branch office in Saudi Arabia
All Saudi company statistics
FAQs

Common questions

How many branches of foreign companies are there in Saudi Arabia?

3,497 active registrations as of 30 June 2026, according to Ministry of Commerce data — 0.2% of all active commercial registrations.

How many were registered in Q2 2026?

34 registrations created in Q2 2026 were still active at quarter end.

Who can use this structure?

Any foreign company holding a MISA investment licence.

Source & method

Figures are Alpha Consultancy's analysis of the Ministry of Commerce's open datasets on the Saudi Open Data Platform (open.data.gov.sa): the register of active commercial registrations (CRs) as of 30 June 2026.

Active CRsinclude main and branch registrations, as in the Ministry's own totals. Registered in a period counts CRs created in that period that were still active on 30 June 2026; registrations since cancelled are not in the source file, so older periods read lower than the number originally issued.

The Ministry's extract is dated 30 June 2026; it was taken at the start of that day, so registrations created on the reference date itself are not included.

No individual business is identified on these pages; only aggregate counts are published.

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