Insurance and financial services in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Insurance and financial services was 6.8% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Insurance and financial services in Saudi Arabia, 1971–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
In 2025, insurance and financial services in Saudi Arabia stood at 6.8%.
That represents a change of down 5.6% on the previous year and up 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Saudi Arabia peaked at 11.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1997.
That places Saudi Arabia 83rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Insurance and financial services in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 3.7% | — |
| 1972 | 3.3% | -10.4% |
| 1973 | 2.9% | -11.0% |
| 1974 | 3.4% | +16.5% |
| 1975 | 4.3% | +26.7% |
| 1976 | 5.5% | +27.9% |
| 1977 | 5.7% | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 4.7% | -17.6% |
| 1979 | 2.2% | -53.4% |
| 1980 | 3.1% | +41.1% |
| 1981 | 2.6% | -17.9% |
| 1982 | 3.6% | +39.4% |
| 1983 | 3.6% | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 3.6% | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 2.4% | -34.8% |
| 1986 | 2.1% | -12.7% |
| 1987 | 2.0% | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 2.9% | +43.3% |
| 1989 | 2.3% | -21.5% |
| 1990 | 2.2% | -3.2% |
| 1991 | 2.4% | +6.8% |
| 1992 | 2.0% | -16.3% |
| 1993 | 1.7% | -16.1% |
| 1994 | 2.3% | +35.7% |
| 1995 | 2.8% | +23.7% |
| 1996 | 1.9% | -31.9% |
| 1997 | 1.6% | -13.8% |
| 1998 | 2.9% | +73.8% |
| 1999 | 2.5% | -14.3% |
| 2000 | 2.3% | -7.0% |
| 2001 | 3.6% | +57.7% |
| 2002 | 3.7% | +3.6% |
| 2003 | 3.8% | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 3.3% | -13.0% |
| 2005 | 9.7% | +190.6% |
| 2006 | 9.1% | -6.2% |
| 2007 | 6.8% | -25.8% |
| 2008 | 7.2% | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 7.0% | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 6.8% | -2.8% |
| 2011 | 8.4% | +24.1% |
| 2012 | 8.4% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 7.8% | -7.5% |
| 2014 | 6.6% | -15.5% |
| 2015 | 6.5% | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 6.9% | +6.6% |
| 2017 | 8.0% | +15.5% |
| 2018 | 8.6% | +8.3% |
| 2019 | 7.6% | -11.5% |
| 2020 | 6.5% | -14.6% |
| 2021 | 11.7% | +79.2% |
| 2022 | 7.2% | -38.1% |
| 2023 | 7.9% | +9.1% |
| 2024 | 7.2% | -8.4% |
| 2025 | 6.8% | -5.6% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 6.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 6.4%, 1.1× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 6.8% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 6.7%, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insurance and financial 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 | +190.6% | 3.3% | 9.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.0% | 2.2% | 5.7% | 9 |
| 1980s | 2.8% | 2.0% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.2% | 1.6% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.6% | 2.3% | 9.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.6% | 6.5% | 8.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.9% | 6.5% | 11.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More private sector data for Saudi Arabia
- Merchandise trade 44.2% (2025)
- Food imports 13.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.5% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 254.06 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.9% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 15.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 310.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 8,403 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2433 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Saudi Arabia?
- Insurance and financial services in Saudi Arabia was 6.8% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 11.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1997.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for insurance and financial services?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 83rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.