Dubai: Saudi Arabia recorded a budget surplus of 103.9 billion riyals ($27.68 billion) in 2022, beating its own projections, as higher oil prices cut 31 percent of government revenue, according to Finance Ministry data. Percentage increase.
The world’s biggest oil exporter recorded real GDP growth of 8.7 percent in 2022, resulting in the Gulf state’s first budget surplus in nearly a decade.
It previously projected a budget surplus of 102 billion riyals, or about 2.6 percent of GDP, for 2022, but a smaller surplus is projected for 2023.
Saudi Arabia’s total revenue in 2022 is projected to reach about 1.27 trillion riyals, up 31 percent from 2021, and slightly higher than forecast. Oil revenues totaled about 857.3 billion riyals in 2022, up 52 percent from the previous year.
According to a Finance Ministry report, however, non-oil revenue grew in the fourth quarter, up 19 percent from the year-ago period, outperforming oil revenue, which rose 17 percent in the fourth quarter. happened
In 2022, total spending increased 12 percent from last year to 1.16 trillion riyals.
The Gulf state recorded a fiscal surplus in the first three quarters of 2022, but reported a deficit of 45.7 billion riyals in the fourth quarter, as OPEC+ oil production cuts began.
By the end of 2022, Saudi Arabia’s total public debt was only 990 billion riyals.
