According to a report issued by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Finance, expenditure during the first quarter of 2023 amounted to SR283.86 billion, reflecting a 21.9 percent drop when compared to SR363.7 billion recorded in the previous quarter.

The Kingdom’s non-oil revenue increased by 9 percent to reach SR102.34 billion in the first quarter of 2023 as compared to SR94.26 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Oil revenues stood at SR178 billion, reflecting a 3 percent drop when compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

The report also revealed that the Saudi budget recorded a deficit of about SR2.91 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

“The opportunities available during the previous year were exploited to reduce financing needs for the year 2023 through the implementation of advance financing operations,” the ministry said.

It added: “The volume of public debt is low compared to the G20 countries.”

Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product grew by 3.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023 as non-oil activities picked up pace, data issued by the General Authority for Statistics showed.

Between January and March this year, the Kingdom’s activities in the non-oil sector, government services, and oil industry increased by 5.8 percent, 4.9 percent, and 1.3 percent, respectively.