2022 Q1 Report En · Page 2

 
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Key Highlights: Budget Surplus in Q1 2022, GDP rose 6.7% in Q4 2021
Q1 2022 Budget Highlights 
 
• 
Saudi Arabia recorded a budget surplus of SAR 57.5bn 
in Q1 2022, compared to a deficit of SAR 7.4bn in the 
same period last year. 
• 
Total revenue increased 36% YoY to SAR 277.96bn in 
Q1 2022, from SAR 204.76bn in the same period a 
year ago. 
• 
Oil revenues increased 58% YoY to SAR 183.7bn, while 
non-oil revenues rose 7% YoY to SAR 94.26bn in Q1 
2022. Revenues from 'Taxes on Goods and Services' 
witnessed a 13% YoY increase to SAR 60.42bn in Q1 
2022. 
• 
Total expenditure rose by 4% YoY to  
SAR 220.47bn in Q1 2022, from SAR 212.2bn in the 
same period last year. 
• 
Public debt increased to SAR 958.64bn by the end of 
Q1 2022 from SAR 938.01bn by the end of FY 2021. 
 
 
 
Saudi Central Bank: The Share of Electronic Payments 
Exceeds the Target set out by the Financial Sector De-
velopment Program for 2021 
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced that the share 
of electronic payments in retail has exceeded 57% of total 
transactions conducted in 2021, surpassing the 55% target 
set out by the Financial Sector Development Program 
(FSDP), one of the main programs of Saudi Vision 2030. 
On this occasion, His Excellency Fahad Almubarak, gover-
nor of the Saudi Central Bank, stated that SAMA, in line 
with the guidelines of the Kingdom's wise leadership, is 
working on promoting electronic infrastructure, expand-
ing electronic payment activities and accelerating the 
electronic transformation of transactions, remarking that 
this most recent achievement was driven by the Financial 
Sector Development Program and the implementation of 
the Bank's strategic plans for the payments sector,  pri-
marily aiming to reduce dependency on cash, and increase 
the rate of electronic payments to 70% by 2025. Almu-
barak also noted that joint efforts between the govern-
ment and private sectors to increase payment choices and 
implement many payment digitization initiatives together 
with private sector innovation and expansion initiatives as 
well as opening financial services to a new class of FinTech 
stakeholders in the Kingdom, all played an instrumental 
role in making this achievement possible. 
 
 
Q4 2021 GDP Growth (%) 
 
• 
Real GDP (at 2010 constant prices) rose 6.7% YoY in 
Q4 2021. 
• 
The rise was largely driven by 10.9% increase in the 
oil sector, while the non-oil sector increased by 5.1% 
during the quarter.  
• 
The non-oil sector accounted for 57% of total GDP in 
Q4 2021, compared to 56% in Q3 2021. 
 
PMI Index 
The Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 
56.8 in March from 56.2 in February, which is the greatest 
rate of acceleration in four years and the highest level 
since November. The number of new orders was the most 
since November 2021, amid a deceleration in Covid-19 
cases. Purchasing activity experienced its highest accel-
eration since December 2017.  
 
Consumer Price Index (CPI) 
The CPI increased by 2% YoY in March 2022, up from 1.6% 
in February. Transport and Communication services prices 
witnessed an increase of 4.7% and 0.1%, respectively. 
Food and beverage prices rose by 3.0%, while Clothing and 
Footwear prices declined the most, down by 1.2% YoY in 
March 2022. 
 
 
-130
-100
-70
-40
-10
20
50
80
Q2'16
Q3'16
Q4'16
Q1'17
Q2'17
Q3'17
Q4'17
Q1'18
Q2'18
Q3'18
Q4'18
Q1'19
Q2'19
Q3'19
Q4'19
Q1'20
Q2'20
Q3'20
Q4'20
Q1'21
Q2'21
Q3'21
Q4'21
Q1'22
Budget Deficit/Surplus (SAR bn)
-8.0%