World Bank Forecasts Saudi Arabia’s 2025 GDP Growth to Reach 5.9%

According to the latest reports published by the World Bank, Saudi Arabia’s expected GDP growth for 2025 has increased to 5.9% from previous forecasts of 4.2%. Their forecasted growth for 2024, however, has decreased from 4.1% to 2.5%. This ties into the overall forecasts for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) made by the World Bank which saw their expected cumulative GDP growth for 2024 decrease from 3.6% to 2.8%. Meanwhile, the forecasted 2025 GDP growth has increased from 3.8% to 4.7%.

These predictions reflect the global economic trends which saw an increase in oil prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, increasing exports for oil-producing countries in the MENA region. As a whole, the MENA region is expected to reach 2.7% economic growth in 2024, aligning with forecasted GDP growth levels from before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.