In an effort to boost quality of life in Saudi Arabia, the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) has launched a program that aims to enhance lifestyle in the kingdom by 2020.
On Thursday, the kingdom announced its plans to spend 50 billion riyals ($13.33 billion) by 2020 to promote entertainment, health, sports, and education, according to Reuters.
"The initiatives will cost a total of 50 billion riyals, and government spending will be around 60 percent, with 40 percent from the private sector," Ahmed al-Khatib, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, told Reuters.
The program, dubbed Quality of Life, will also potentially create 300,000 jobs by 2020, according to al-Khatib.
Improvements in stated sectors come as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, an initiative focused on diversifying the country's economy, led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
With the program, the kingdom aims to have three Saudi cities included in the list of the top 100 cities in the world to live in by 2030.
Aside from that, Quality of Life 2020 also focuses on the overall improvement of "lifestyle of citizens and residents" in Saudi Arabia with initiatives in the economic and investment sectors.
In recent years, major transformations have taken ground in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
In 2016, the kingdom established the General Authority for Entertainment, headed by Amr al-Madani, to enhance the cultural and entertainment sector within the country.
The kingdom proved its commitment in January 2017 when it announced the lifting of the cinema ban.
Over a year later, the kingdom opened the doors to its first cinema in more than 35 years.
According to The Guardian, the cinemas are not to be gender segregated.
The program goes beyond entertainment...
With Quality of Life 2020, the kingdom hopes to contribute to the sports sector globally.
Throughout the years, the kingdom aims to increase the use of sports facilities from 8 percent to 55 percent.
The kingdom hopes to contribute to the international sports sector "by preparing a number of elite athletes ... and improving their performance to participate effectively in the Olympic Games," according to Arab News.
In April, the kingdom hosted WWE's The Greatest Royal Rumble, a professional wrestling tournament, as 60,000 people attended the sold-out event.
That same month, WWE also held a four-day talent tryout in Jeddah in an effort to find the next wave of superstars to join its professional roster in various sports sectors including soccer, powerlifting, volleyball, boxing, jiujitsu, gymnastics, CrossFit, and Taekwondo.
Saudi Arabia has introduced several changes to improve the status of women in the sports industry
In 2017, the General Sports Authority announced its plans to start granting licenses to women's gyms and open female-only fitness centers in every district in the kingdom.
That same year, the kingdom held its first-ever women's basketball tournament.
In 2016, Saudi sprinter Kariman Abuljadayel made history after becoming the first woman from the kingdom to compete in the 100-meter race at the Olympic Games, though she was not the first female track athlete to take part in the whole event.
In 2012, Sarah Attar became the first female track athlete to represent Saudi Arabia when she competed in the the 800-meter race in London, the first time the kingdom sent female athletes to take part in the Olympic Games.
Saudi Arabia sent four female athletes to compete in Rio 2016, twice the number of those who competed in 2012.
Saudi Arabia's Quality of Life ... through expat eyes
In 2017, Expat Insider released a report ranking countries around the world through the eyes of expats based on several factors including quality of life, top expat destinations, ease of settling in, to name a few.
Saudi Arabia ranked No. 59 on the list, falling behind several GCC countries. UAE came in No. 18 in the ranking (the best in the Arab world,) followed by Oman (No. 26,) Bahrain (No. 32,) and Qatar (No. 46.)
Kuwait ranked No. 63 on the list.