Saudi Arabia's 21 WHO Healthy Cities: What They Mean for Daily Movement

What a WHO Healthy City actually is

A Healthy City is not a slogan a municipality can award itself. According to the World Health Organization, a city earns the status by meeting 80 international standards grouped into 9 main axes, then passing an external assessment. The process starts with a formal commitment, runs through a detailed self-assessment against those 80 indicators, and ends only when a WHO regional and country team signs off. The standards are tied to the social determinants of health, which is a technical way of saying the everyday conditions that shape how well, and how actively, people live.

The 9 axes, and what they mean for your daily movement

The nine axes read like a planning document, but each one touches the way you move through a normal day. As reported by okaz.com.sa, they are:

• Community empowerment for health and development and support for small projects: local sports clubs, walking groups and community initiatives that give you a reason and a place to be active.
• Intersectoral cooperation and community information centres: health, transport and municipal bodies working together, so cycle lanes, parks and public campaigns line up instead of pulling apart.
• Urban environment: shaded footpaths, safe crossings, corniches and green space, the difference between a walk you take and a walk you skip.
• Health services and emergency preparedness: accessible clinics and early screening that catch problems sooner and keep you moving for longer.
• Skill development, capacity building and education: schools and programmes that teach why movement matters, so the next generation grows up active by default.

Put together, a Healthy City is a place engineered to remove the small frictions that keep people sitting down. The infrastructure does part of the work; the habit is still yours to build.

How Saudi Arabia climbed the list

The jump to 21 did not happen overnight. Earlier in 2026 the World Health Organization recognised 16 Saudi Healthy Cities, and that group already included Jeddah and Madinah as the region's first Healthy Mega Cities, covering close to 9 million residents. The newest additions reported by okaz.com.sa spread the map wider still, naming Abha, Mahayel Asir, Turabah and King Khalid University City. It is a national push that fits squarely inside Vision 2030 and its goal of a more active, healthier population.

Turn a healthy city into an active life

A supportive city makes movement easier, but the week is still yours to plan. If you want to use what is around you, a few simple habits go a long way.

Use the outdoors early, train indoors when it is hot

Saudi summers are long, so pair early-morning walks along a corniche or park with indoor sessions when the heat peaks. A structured conditioning workout lifts your heart rate in half an hour, whatever the thermometer says outside.

Make movement social

The community axis works best when you lean into it. Group training turns exercise into something you look forward to, and our group fitness classes are an easy way in, whatever your starting point.

Learn the movements first

If you are new to training, technique comes before intensity. Our exercise library walks you through the basics so you build confidence and avoid the aches that make people quit in week two.

Your city is ready when you are

The accreditation is the invitation; the first session is the answer. Whether you are in one of the newly named cities or one of the earlier ones, find your nearest GymNation in Riyadh and make daily movement the normal part of your week that a Healthy City is built to encourage.

Sources:

okaz.com.sa
emro.who.int
who.int

The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.