Saudi Arabia

The World Bank’s partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia started in 1975. The Kingdom supports the World Bank Group efforts in its mission of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Since then, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embarked on a major economic and social transformation outlined in its Vision 2030: diversification away from oil and a renewed social contract. It is expected that the "thriving economy" foreseen in Vision 2030 will be achieved through major change in the economic model, with a shift towards a new paradigm based on increased productivity. To achieve this, the role of the state is changing from driver of the economy to enabler of private sector-led growth.

The World Bank brings technical expertise and global knowledge to government entities in the Kingdom to support the country’s development agenda. The advisory program is aligned with, and supports, the implementation of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program. Over the last few years, the program has been expanded to cover various sectors, including improving the investment climate, education, health, labor markets, transport, energy, urban planning, economic management and planning, public financial management, digital economy, PPPs, and SME strategy.

In 2025, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the World Bank Group agreed to establish a Knowledge Hub in Riyadh to drive the global exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices to tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. The World Bank Group–Saudi Arabia Knowledge Hub (K-Hub) will serve as a platform for knowledge generation and exchange to drive greater development impact for countries.

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Economic growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is projected to continue recovering after declining to 1.3% in 2023, rising to 2.8% in 2025 and an average of 4.6% in 2026-2027. The phasing out of OPEC+ voluntary production cuts is expected to take hydrocarbon GDP growth to 6.7% in 2026 and 6.1% in 2027. Meanwhile, non-oil GDP is expected to continue rising steadily, by 3.6% on average between 2025 and 2027, as Saudi Arabia pursues its economic diversification agenda under Vision 2030.

The country’s real GDP expanded by 3.9 percent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with non-oil activities growing by 4.8 percent and leading the recovery. Services have been the main driver, particularly wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels (+8.4 percent), while government services also expanded. The oil sector, after contracting in early 2025, returned to growth (+3.8 percent in Q2) as OPEC+ production cuts were phased out at an accelerated pace. Labor market conditions have strengthened: unemployment fell to 2.8 percent in Q1-2025 (from 3.5 percent in 2024), supported by rising female participation and lower joblessness among youth.

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The World Bank’s development partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is built on long-term, government-led Reimbursable Advisory Services that support policy reforms and institution-building across Vision 2030 priorities. This work spans social protection, education–skills alignment, labor market outcomes, and private sector development—pairing global expertise with Saudi-led implementation.

The partnership with Saudi Arabia advances concrete development initiatives to improve the investment climate and share knowledge regionally. Joint efforts include the WTO Investment Facilitation for Development self-assessment, the regional rollout of the B-Ready methodology, and platforms such as the Global Labor Market Conference and its Labor Market Academy to diffuse Saudi and global lessons.

Collaboration extends across the World Bank Group, with IFC and MIGA helping catalyze private investment and deepen market creation. It is reinforced by partnerships with institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank and the Saudi Fund for Development to enable joint action and co-financing—signaling a shift from one-off advice to a strategic, programmatic knowledge partnership.

Beyond engaging the World Bank through RAS, Saudi Arabia has become a key development partner to the institution by contributing to IDA and other World Bank–managed funds—underscoring its commitment to ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity worldwide.

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