Riyadh | B | B
May 6, 2026

Saudi Arabia’s budget recorded total expenditures of SAR 387 billion in Q1 2026, marking a 20% increase compared to Q1 2025, while revenues reached SAR 261 billion, reflecting a slight 1% decline, within a framework that balances growth stimulation with fiscal sustainability.

The Framework

Spending

• Total expenditure: SAR 387 billion (+20% vs Q1 2025)
• Social benefits: SAR 31+ billion (+2%)
• Health & social development: SAR 81 billion (+12%)
• Infrastructure & transport: SAR 12 billion (+26%)

Revenues

• Total revenues: SAR 261 billion (-1%)
• Oil revenues: SAR 145 billion (-3%)
• Non-oil revenues: SAR 116 billion (+2%)

Economic Indicators

• GDP growth (2025): 4.5%
• 2026 forecast: 4.6%
• Inflation: 1.8% (moderate levels)

External Sector

• Trade surplus: SAR 36.9 billion (Jan–Feb)
• Non-oil exports: SAR 63.3 billion (+17.5%)
• Imports: SAR 160.6 billion (+8.7%)

Labor Market & Activity

• Increase in Saudi private-sector employment: +139.5k (+5.8%)
• POS sales: SAR 189.7 billion (+4.4%)
• E-commerce sales: +42.6%
• PMI: 53.7 (expansion)

Industry & Finance

• Industrial production: +9.8%
• Foreign reserves: SAR 1.786 trillion (+10%)
• Private sector credit: +8.8%
• Real estate prices: -1.6% (relative stability)

B Analysis | بث

The increase in spending is not a conventional expansion,
but a calibrated move toward accelerating growth:

• Direct investment in people (health & social sectors)
• Acceleration of infrastructure (transport & logistics)
• Continued strengthening of non-oil revenues

Meanwhile,
a slight decline in oil revenues is offset by overall stability,
reflecting a gradual shift toward a more balanced economy.

Conclusion

The figures reflect a clear equation:

Active spending
Balanced growth

B | B Tracks the Pulse of the World

Saudi Budget: Growth Spending Under Global Scrutiny

Monitoring & Analysis | B | بث

Foreign media outlets read Saudi Arabia’s quarterly budget primarily through the lens of deficit and rising spending, rather than as a tool for driving economic transformation.

Reuters focused on the first-quarter deficit of approximately SAR 125.7 billion, driven by an increase in spending to SAR 386.7 billion, alongside a 3% decline in oil revenues and a 2% rise in non-oil revenues.

In the same direction, Investing.com highlighted the direct financial headline: a $33.5 billion deficit in the first quarter, resulting from a 20% surge in spending compared to a slight decline in revenues.

Meanwhile, English-language regional outlets such as Arab News and Argaam offered a more balanced and detailed reading, linking higher spending to the execution of national strategies and projects supporting economic diversification, while noting the rise in non-oil revenues to SAR 116 billion.

B Analysis | بث

Foreign readings tend to begin with the deficit,
while a deeper reading begins with the question: Where is the spending going?

The figure does not merely reflect expanded spending,
but reveals continued state investment in transformation:

healthcare, infrastructure, transport, diversification, and the private sector.

The difference lies between those who see the budget as a financial gap,
and those who see it as a tool for economic restructuring.

Conclusion

The external headline:
A rising deficit

The strategic reading:
Spending that is building a new economy

B Perspective

The issue is not which headline is more accurate,
but which one reads the phase… not the moment.

The external headline:
“A rising deficit”
captures the number…
but stops there.

The strategic reading:
“Spending that is building a new economy”
captures the direction…
even if it is not yet complete.

The truth lies between them:

A transitional deficit… financing a long-term transformation

Deeper Interpretation

The deficit is not the result of imbalance,
but the result of a decision:

accelerating projects
supporting non-oil sectors
building a new economic infrastructure

In other words:

What appears today as financial pressure…
may be an investment in future independence

B Analysis | بث

Foreign media measures:
short-term fiscal balance

While the Saudi vision works toward:
long-term economic balance

And here lies the gap:
not in the numbers… but in the understanding

Final Conclusion

Not every deficit is a sign of weakness,
and sometimes it is:

the cost of transition…
from an economy that depends
to one that leads

Those who read the number.. see the deficit
Those who read the direction.. see the opportunity

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