The News
The International Monetary Fund lowered its 2025 growth forecast for Saudi Arabia, continuing a pattern of downward revisions from last year driven by the unexpected extension of OPEC+ production cuts.
The kingdom’s economy is now projected to grow by 3.3% this year, following a sharp downgrade in 2024 growth expectations to 1.4%.
The Gulf is also feeling the impact of the reduced oil output, with the World Bank cutting its 2025 growth outlook for the region to 3.3%.
Despite the slowdown in the oil sector, the rest of the kingdom’s economy has momentum: Riyad Bank projects non-oil GDP growth of over 4% for both 2024 and 2025, fueled by diversification efforts and increased investments in giga-projects such as NEOM and the Red Sea developments.