Sa'udi Arabia - Balance of payments



In 2000 foreign worker remittances, approximately $18 billion per year, continued to drain the current account. There are roughly 6–7 million foreign workers and their families living in the country, and the remittances cause the currency to be subject to a mild devaluating pressure. Strong oil exports in the early 2000s, however, kept the current account in surplus.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of Sa'udi Arabia's exports was $66.9 billion while imports totaled $29.7 billion resulting in a trade surplus of $37.2 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that in 2001 Sa'udi Arabia had exports of goods totaling $73 billion and imports totaling $28.6 billion. The services credit totaled $5.18 billion and debit $19.3 billion. The following table summarizes Sa'udi Arabia's balance of payments as reported by the IMF for 2001 in millions of US dollars.

Sa'udi Arabia

Current Account 14,502
Balance on goods 44,387
Balance on services -14,125
Balance on income -520
Current transfers -15,240
Capital Account
Financial Account -16,411
Direct investment abroad
Direct investment in Sa'udi Arabia 20
Portfolio investment assets -2,798
Portfolio investment liabilities
Other investment assets -12,343
Other investment liabilities -1,289
Net Errors and Omissions
Reserves and Related Items 1,909

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