Saudi short-term business revenues index rises 11.4% in May 2026

The General Authority for Statistics reported in its May 2026 bulletin on short-term business indicators that the Kingdom’s short-term business revenues index rose by 11.4% compared to May 2025.

The authority noted that this growth was mainly due to increases in several economic activities. Mining and quarrying surged by 38.7%, manufacturing grew by 9.6%, wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair rose by 3.6%, construction increased by 2.5%, and financial and insurance activities were up by 12.9%.

The authority added that, on a monthly basis, the index increased by 2.9% compared to April 2026, supported by a 0.6% rise in manufacturing, a 10.2% increase in mining and quarrying, a 1.3% gain in wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair, a 1.1% rise in financial and insurance activities, and a 1.9% increase in information and communications activities.

Meanwhile, the number of building permits issued in May 2026 dropped by 33.3% year-on-year to 5,056 permits, down from 7,584 in May 2025. On a monthly basis, permits also declined by 25.7% from 6,803 in April 2026.

The short-term business statistics product aims to measure the performance of various economic sectors in the short term through monthly indicators that track developments and growth rates for each economic activity, covering all business sector establishments in the Kingdom.