Saudi Education Spending More Than Doubles as School Year Begins
Education payments jumped 133.9% in a week as total point-of-sale spending held near USD 3.8 billion.
Education spending in Saudi Arabia more than doubled in the week ending August 22nd, 2026, as families prepared for the start of the new academic year.
According to Saudi Central Bank data, point-of-sale spending reached SAR 14.17 billion, or around USD 3.78 billion, slipping just 0.1% from the previous week. Transaction volumes fell 4.9% to 237.35 million.
Education recorded the sharpest increase, with spending up 133.9% week on week to SAR 1.04 billion. The number of education-related transactions also rose 55.7%.
Books and stationery followed the same seasonal pattern, with spending increasing 30.2% to SAR 155.18 million.
Elsewhere, food and beverage spending reached SAR 2.11 billion, down 4.1%, while restaurants and cafes recorded SAR 1.67 billion, down 8.6%. Apparel, clothing and accessories rose 1.7% to SAR 1.26 billion.
Transportation spending stood at SAR 1.04 billion, while gas stations recorded SAR 960.41 million. Healthcare reached SAR 798.52 million and professional businesses and services recorded SAR 800.66 million.
Riyadh accounted for the largest share of spending by city, reaching SAR 5.13 billion, up 6% from the previous week. Jeddah followed with SAR 1.80 billion, down 4.4%, while Dammam rose 9.3% to SAR 712.78 million.
Makkah recorded SAR 534.04 million and Madinah SAR 519.31 million. Alkhobar posted an 11.5% increase to SAR 426.43 million, while Abha recorded the steepest weekly decline among the listed cities, falling 14.4% to SAR 225.43 million.
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