Travel services in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Travel services was 22.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Saudi Arabia, 1971–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of service imports, BoP.
Analysis
In 2025, travel services in Saudi Arabia stood at 22.9%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.8% on the previous year and up 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Saudi Arabia peaked at 32.8% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 1981.
That places Saudi Arabia 77th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Travel services in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of service imports, BoP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 32.7% | — |
| 1972 | 31.3% | -4.5% |
| 1973 | 22.3% | -28.7% |
| 1974 | 12.4% | -44.6% |
| 1975 | 7.9% | -36.4% |
| 1976 | 8.5% | +7.6% |
| 1977 | 9.1% | +7.1% |
| 1978 | 16.8% | +85.0% |
| 1979 | 11.1% | -33.6% |
| 1980 | 8.1% | -27.0% |
| 1981 | 6.9% | -15.4% |
| 2005 | 24.2% | +252.3% |
| 2006 | 26.0% | +7.5% |
| 2007 | 32.8% | +26.1% |
| 2008 | 21.2% | -35.2% |
| 2009 | 25.9% | +21.9% |
| 2010 | 26.2% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 20.9% | -20.1% |
| 2012 | 21.9% | +4.7% |
| 2013 | 21.7% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 22.8% | +4.9% |
| 2015 | 20.8% | -8.9% |
| 2016 | 22.1% | +6.4% |
| 2017 | 21.1% | -4.6% |
| 2018 | 18.8% | -11.0% |
| 2019 | 16.8% | -10.5% |
| 2020 | 12.9% | -23.4% |
| 2021 | 16.6% | +29.1% |
| 2022 | 16.7% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 20.5% | +23.0% |
| 2024 | 22.0% | +7.2% |
| 2025 | 22.9% | +3.8% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 22.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.1%, 1.1× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 22.9% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 21.7%, 1.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +252.3% | 6.9% | 24.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 16.9% | 7.9% | 32.7% | 9 |
| 1980s | 7.5% | 6.9% | 8.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.0% | 21.2% | 32.8% | 5 |
| 2010s | 21.3% | 16.8% | 26.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.6% | 12.9% | 22.9% | 6 |
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)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 27.03 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0212 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 731.09 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 32.63 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 52.91 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0256 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 882.47 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 8.9 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Saudi Arabia?
- Travel services in Saudi Arabia was 22.9% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 32.8% in 2007.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 1981.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for travel services?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 77th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of service imports, BoP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are services provided by non-residents to residents.