Economy of Saudi Arabia

Economy of Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, the financial center of Saudi Arabia
CurrencySaudi Riyal (SAR)[a]
Calendar year
Trade organisations
WTO, OPEC, and GCC
Country group
Statistics
PopulationNeutral increase 37,299,502 (2023 census)[5]
GDPDecrease $1.057 trillion (Nominal, 2024)[6]
Increase $2.354 trillion (PPP, 2024)[6]
GDP rank18th (nominal, 2024)
17th (PPP, 2024)
GDP growth
  • Decrease -0.8% (2023)[6]
  • Increase 2.6% (2024f)[6]
  • Increase 6.0% (2025f)[6]
GDP per capita
Decrease $28,364 (nominal; 2024)[6]
Increase $70,333 (PPP; 2024)[6]
GDP per capita rank
35th (nominal, 2024)
15th (PPP, 2024)
GDP by sector
(2017 est.)[7]
1.6% (2024)[8]
45.9 high (2013 est.)[7]
Steady 0.875 very high (2022)[9] (40th)
Labour force
13.8 million (2017 est.)[7]
Increase 52.4% employment rate (2018)[10]
Labour force by occupation
(2005 est.)[7]
  • agriculture: 6.7%
  • industry: 21.4%
  • services: 71.9%
UnemploymentNegative increase 7.36% (2021 est.)[7][b]
Main industries
External
ExportsIncrease $286.5 billion (2021 est.)[7]
Export goods
crude petroleum, refined petroleum, polymers, industrial alcohols, natural gas (2019)[7]
Main export partners
Imports$213.0 billion (2021 est.)[7]
Import goods
machinery and equipment, chemicals, packaged medicine, motor vehicles, textiles, broadcasting equipment, telephones[7]
Main import partners
Increase $15.23 billion (2017 est.)[7]
Negative increase $205.1 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[7]
Public finances
Negative increase 17.2% of GDP (2017 est.)
8.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[7]
Revenues310 billion (2023 est.)[7]
Expenses330.8 billion (2023 est.)[7]
Increase $451.587 billion (April 2022)[12] (8th)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.


The economy of Saudi Arabia is the second-largest in the Middle East and the seventeenth-largest in the world.[6] The Saudi economy is highly reliant on its petroleum sector. Oil accounts on average in recent years for approximately 40% of Saudi GDP and 75% of fiscal revenue, with substantial fluctuations depending on oil prices each year.[13]

The kingdom has the second-largest proven petroleum reserves,[14] and the fourth-largest measured natural gas reserves.[15] Saudi Arabia is currently the largest exporter of petroleum in the world.[16] Other major parts of the economy include refining and chemical manufacturing from the oil reserves, much of which is vertically integrated in the state-owned enterprise, Saudi Aramco. Saudi Arabia is a permanent and founding member of OPEC.

In 2016, the Saudi government launched its Saudi Vision 2030 program to reduce its dependency on oil and diversify its economic resources.[17] By 2022, Saudi Arabia had only modestly reduced its dependence on oil.[13]

Monetary policy in Saudi Arabia is anchored by the fixed exchange rate of the Saudi Riyal to the U.S. Dollar.[18]

  1. ^ Strohecker, Karin (27 April 2016). "Saudi riyal peg pressure eases, but not gone". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  2. ^ Kirkland, Stephen (5 January 2016). "Saudi Riyal Peg Not Sustainable Amid Oil Slide, Commerzbank Says". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  3. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  4. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". World Bank. World Bank. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  5. ^ "GASTAT Portal". portal.saudicensus.sa. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024 Edition. (SA)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Middle East: Saudi Arabia". cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  8. ^ Consumer Price Index, March 2024
  9. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) – Saudi Arabia". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Foreign trade partners of Saudi Arabia". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Monthly Statistics". www.sama.gov.sa. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  13. ^ a b International Monetary Fund Middle East and Central Asia Dept. (17 August 2022). Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues (Report). Vol. 2022. IMF Staff Country Reports. doi:10.5089/9798400217548.002.A001 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  14. ^ "The World's Largest Oil Reserves By Country". WorldAtlas. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Country Analysis Executive Summary: Saudi Arabia". eia.gov. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  16. ^ Workman, Daniel (30 November 2018). "Crude Oil Exports by Country". World's Top Exports. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  17. ^ International Monetary Fund Middle East and Central Asia Dept. (17 August 2022). Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues (Report). Vol. 2022. IMF Staff Country Reports. doi:10.5089/9798400217548.002.A003 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  18. ^ International Monetary Fund Middle East and Central Asia Dept. (17 August 2022). Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues (Report). Vol. 2022. IMF Staff Country Reports. doi:10.5089/9798400217548.002.A002 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)


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