Saudi Arabia approves the 2025 budget with a deficit of 101 billion Riyals

Egypt Daily News – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the final statement of the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2025, expecting total expenditures to reach about 1,285 billion riyals, and total revenues about 1,184 billion riyals.

A statement by the Saudi Ministry of Finance confirmed that there are estimates of recording a deficit for the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2025 amounting to 101 billion riyals, representing about 2.3% of the gross domestic product.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan said that the continuation of the economic transformation process towards diversification, innovation and investment in promising sectors adopted by the Kingdom’s government, and that the positive results achieved so far confirm the success of economic and financial reforms aimed at promoting comprehensive economic growth and developing public financial management with a focus on improving the quality of services provided to citizens, residents and visitors.

He explained that the 2025 budget aims to continue expanding strategic spending on development projects in accordance with the sectoral strategies and programs of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and to continue implementing programs and projects with sustainable economic, social and environmental returns.

Al-Jadaan stressed that the government, through this budget and previous budgets, continues to pay attention to the citizen and his basic needs, in spending on the education, health and social services sectors, enhancing the quality of government services and facilities and developing infrastructure in various regions of the Kingdom.

He explained that the deficit comes within the financial planning of the budget, and that the Kingdom aims to continue local and international financing operations with the aim of covering the expected deficit in the 2025 budget and repaying the principal due during the year 2025.

The Saudi minister expected that the public debt balance would reach about 1,300 billion riyals (equivalent to 29.9% of the GDP) for the year 2025 AD, compared to about 1,199 billion riyals in the year 2024 AD (equivalent to 29.3% of the GDP).