Saudi Arabia’s FDI inflows rise 33.5% to about SAR159 billion in 2025

Saudi Arabia received about SAR159 billion in foreign direct investment inflows during 2025, an increase of 33.5%, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Saudi Gazette and Economy Middle East said the growth was measured against 2024.

The annual increase followed a 24% rise in 2024, when inflows reached SAR119 billion, according to the General Authority for Statistics. Its report put the corresponding figure for 2023 at SAR96 billion, showing that inward investment grew in both years before the latest increase.

Saudi Gazette and Economy Middle East also reported that the country's FDI stock reached SAR1.059 trillion at the close of 2025, up 8.3%. The statistics authority's report recorded a stock of SAR977 billion a year earlier, following growth of 9% in 2024.

The figures show faster reported growth in annual inflows in 2025 than in 2024, but a slightly lower growth rate for investment stock. Inflows and stock are reported separately in the statistics authority's annual figures, alongside outflows and net investment flows.

The distinction matters for the year-to-year comparison: higher inflows did not translate into higher net flows in 2024. The authority recorded SAR80 billion in net FDI that year, a decline of 6% from SAR86 billion in 2023.

Outflows increased to SAR39 billion in 2024, compared with SAR10 billion the previous year, the authority said. Its annual investment indicators were calculated from register-based information held by the Ministry of Investment.

Over the longer period from 2017 to 2025, inflows increased more than fivefold and investment stock doubled, according to Saudi Gazette and Economy Middle East. Economy Middle East put compound annual growth over those years at 24% for inflows and 10% for stock.

The two publications described FDI inflows as one measure of the National Transformation Program's performance in attracting foreign and domestic investment. They said the Ministry of Investment leads the program's investment-related initiatives in coordination with other relevant entities.