Foreign Investment in Saudi Arabia Rises 44% in Q1 2025
Foreign direct investment rose to SAR 22.2 billion in Q1 2025, according to the General Authority for Statistics. Inflows rose 24% year-on-year, while outflows dropped 54%.
Net foreign direct investment flows into Saudi Arabia grew 44% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, reaching SAR 22.2 billion. The figure marks a year-on-year increase from SAR 15.5 billion in Q1 2024.
Despite the annual gain, the latest data from the General Authority for Statistics show a 7% decline from the previous quarter, when Q4 2024 recorded SAR 24 billion. Inflows into the Saudi economy hit SAR 24 billion during the same quarter, up 24% from Q1 2024 but slightly down from SAR 25.6 billion in Q4.
Foreign investment outflows from the country dropped sharply in Q1 2025, falling 54% to SAR 1.8 billion compared to SAR 3.9 billion in Q1 2024. Quarter-on-quarter, however, outflows rose 7% from SAR 1.7 billion in Q4 2024.
Saudi Arabia has recently introduced new regulations to attract international capital as part of its larger economic strategy. The Q1 data arrives as the country also reports a drop in the Saudi unemployment rate to 6.3%.
