RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product has more than doubled since the announcement of Vision 2030 and will reach 4.7 trillion riyad ($1.25 trillion) by the end of 2024, from 2.6 trillion riyad ($693 billion) in 2016, Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday.
Speaking at a government press conference in Riyadh, Al-Falih said the economic expansion reflects not only numerical growth but also fundamental structural reforms that have restructured the labor market and strengthened the competitiveness of the private sector.
He said the Saudi economy has created 800,000 new jobs, highlighting the dynamism of emerging sectors and their increasing capacity to create job opportunities.
Al-Farih added that foreign direct investment is expected to quadruple by the end of 2024 and reach 150 billion riyals ($40 billion) in 2025.
Regarding investor activity, the minister said that the number of investors in Saudi Arabia has exceeded 1.86 million, reflecting strong participation in economic activities and improved growth incentives, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
He noted that while the number of registered foreign investors has reached 62,000, Saudi nationals remain the dominant force in the business sector, supported by nearly 1.8 million commercial registrations in Saudi Arabia.
Al Falih also said that more than 700 multinational companies have received licenses to establish regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia by the end of 2025.
He emphasized labor force participation, saying that women’s contribution to the Saudi economy has doubled and that wages for Saudi employees in the private sector have increased by 45 percent, noting improvements in the quality of work.
Mr. Al Falih said that as part of efforts to diversify income sources, the contribution of the non-oil sector reached 56% of the national economy for the first time in the Kingdom’s history, marking a milestone in reducing dependence on oil revenues and demonstrating concrete achievements of Vision 2030.
Commenting on Saudi Arabia’s participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Al-Falih said that the Kingdom’s economic outlook stood out as positive at a time when pessimism and concerns were dominating discussions among many world delegations.
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