Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP was 3.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in Saudi Arabia, 2003–2024
Source: UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in Saudi Arabia stood at 3.7%. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is up 10.2% on the previous year and up 214.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in Saudi Arabia peaked at 3.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2021.
Saudi Arabia ranks 77th of 191 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1.6% | — |
| 2007 | 1.7% | +4.8% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | -21.5% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | +20.6% |
| 2010 | 1.4% | -9.2% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | -4.1% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | -18.4% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | +4.2% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | +37.0% |
| 2016 | 1.9% | +20.9% |
| 2017 | 2.0% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | -5.5% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | +16.6% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | -72.9% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | -22.0% |
| 2022 | 2.3% | +382.8% |
| 2023 | 3.4% | +47.1% |
| 2024 | 3.7% | +10.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 4 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.1% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 0.5% | 3.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More economy & growth data for Saudi Arabia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.26 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 3.52 Percent per annum (2029)
- Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per capita 17,704 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 2.65 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.9843 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), per capita 33,994 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), annual growth rate 2.65 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), per unit of GDP 3.69 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), per capita 127,477 current LCU per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 2.05 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in Saudi Arabia?
- Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in Saudi Arabia was 3.7% in 2024, according to UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2021.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 77th out of 191 countries with data for 2024.
- Is spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 214.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Money received by the destination country from foreign visitors, including spending on accommodation, food, transport, entertainment, shopping, and fares paid to the country’s own airlines, as a share of, as a share of GDP.