Riyadh: The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) announced the identification of over 34,000 gifted students in the 16th edition of the National Program for Gifted Identification 2026, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Education and Training Evaluation Commission. This brings the total number of identified gifted students to more than 278,000.

According to Saudi Press Agency, this year, 34,358 students were discovered, including 2,469 exceptionally gifted and 31,889 gifted students. Out of the 94,323 students registered in 2026, a total of 89,843 took the Mawhiba Multiple Cognitive Aptitude Test. This raises the total number of test participants since 2011 to over 776,000.

The test, available in Arabic and English at more than 100 centers, evaluates mental flexibility, reasoning, and comprehension skills. Mawhiba has set a Guinness World Record for the highest number of registrations for a cognitive aptitude test in a single month.

The national program aims to create a comprehensive database of gifted students, raise community awareness about giftedness, and support their development through various enrichment programs.