Weekly Market Brief – 6/2/2023

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• The population of Saudi Arabia has reached 32.2 million, statistics from the 2022 census released by the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat) revealed. Of the total number, Saudis made up 18.8 million people (58.4 percent), while non-Saudis accounted for 13.4 million, or 41.6 percent of the population.

• Saudi Arabia’s merchandise exports increased 48.9 percent YoY in 2022 to hit SAR1.54 trillion ($410 billion), driven by a rise in oil exports, according to the latest report released by GAStat. The Kingdom’s oil exports soared 61.8 percent in 2022 to SAR1.22 trillion ($325 billion), compared to SAR758.1 billion ($202 billion) in the previous year. Read more about the U.S.-Saudi trade relationship in our most recent Economic Brief.

• According to a report released by the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at), the total number of small and medium enterprises exceeded 1.2 million in the first quarter of 2023. This figure reflects a 4.8 percent surge compared to the final quarter of 2022.