Saudi Arabia Sees Budget Deficit Soaring in 2020
- Officials expect spending to fall each year from 2021-2023
- This year’s budget deficit expected to soar to 12% of GDP
Skyscrapers stand in the King Abdullah Financial District beyond an empty parking lot in Riyadh, on July 28.
Photographer: Maya Anwar/BloombergSaudi officials expect the kingdom’s budget deficit to widen to 12% of gross domestic product in 2020 and plan to cut spending by 7% next year as oil market turmoil pressures state finances, according to preliminary figures released on Wednesday.
A pre-budget statement published on the Finance Ministry’s website shows next year’s spending projected at 990 billion riyals ($264 billion), down from the 1.07 trillion riyals expected this year. That means that despite the extra costs of the coronavirus pandemic and a private sector stimulus program, officials plan to minimally overspend their original 2020 target of 1.02 trillion riyals, set last December.