Saudi Arabia: Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission

June 26, 2025-- Saudi Arabia's economy has demonstrated strong resilience to shocks, with non-oil economic activities expanding, inflation contained, and unemployment reaching record-low levels. While lower oil proceeds and investment-linked imports led to the emergence of twin deficits, external and fiscal buffers remain ample.
A higher-than-budgeted fiscal stance in 2025 remains appropriate to prevent procyclicality that could exacerbate the growth impact of lower oil prices.

Addressing strong credit growth and associated funding pressures will be crucial in mitigating risks to systemic financial stability. Given the current heightened global uncertainty, continued efforts on structural reform are essential to sustain non-oil growth and drive economic diversification.

RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS[1]

Saudi Arabia's economy has been resilient to shocks. In 2024, non-oil real GDP grew by 4.2 percent, primarily driven by private consumption and non-oil private investment, with retail, hospitality, and construction leading growth.