Xifres de comerç exterior d'Aràbia Saudita

Foreign Trade in Figures

Saudi Arabia was the 26th largest exporter of goods and the 32nd largest import market in the world in 2022, with foreign trade representing 59% of its GDP (World Bank, 2023). Petroleum products represent a large majority of exports, followed by petrochemical products (propylene, ethylene, etc.), covering around 78.6% of all exports in 2020. Machinery and electrical equipment account for the largest share of imports, followed by automobile, chemical and metal products.

Saudi Arabia's main export partners are the UAE, China, India, Egypt and The United States. The country’s imports come chiefly from China, the United States, UAE, India and Germany (data World Bank, 2023). In order to promote international trade, attract foreign investment and diversify the non-oil sectors, the government announced plans to establish four “economic cities” in different regions of the country, providing a variety of advantages to companies that choose to locate their operations within their limits.

The country's trade balance, although structurally in surplus, fluctuates depending on the price of oil and global demand. In 2021, exports totalled USD 276.17 billion against USD 152.85 billion of imports. In the same year, the Kingdom exported USD 9.7 billion worth of services, importing USD 62 billion (WTO, 2023). According to data from the General Authority for Statistics, overall merchandise exports increased by 59% in 2021 with the share of oil exports in total exports reaching 74.9%. The GDP Growth of the Non Oil Sector in Saudi Arabia decreased to 5.99 percent in the third quarter of 2022 from 8.19 percent in the second quarter of 2022 (World Bank latest data available).