Digital transactions in Saudi Arabia topped SR400 billion ($106.63 billion) in 2021 as the Kingdom’s economy bounced back from the pandemic, according to the minister of communication and information technology.
Speaking at a forum in Riyadh to mark the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s budget, Abdullah Al-Swaha said the Kingdom was living in an “era of acceleration of change.”
He added: “We maintained more than 1 million jobs, more than SR400 billion in digital transactions, and in 2021, we have had a major focus on growth and transformation and the real journey started to build our digital economy.
“We have launched the biggest program in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) to support technology, (with) SR2.5 billion in the national program for developing technology.
“Adopted technologies and the local content and technical sectors has grown to 11 percent during the past four years, because of our leadership’s support.”
The budget shows that Saudi Arabia is expecting a surplus next year for the first time since 2022.
Ministers are forecasting a surplus of SR90 billion, while total revenues for 2022 are estimated at SR1.05 trillion.
Spending is estimated to come in at SR955 billion — the lowest level since 2017.