That dollar amount results from a 76.4% acceleration from $173.1 billion five years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, Saudi Arabia’s total exports sales slowed by -4.9% compared to $321 billion starting from 2023.
Saudi Arabia’s Largest Trading Partners
The latest data shows that 71.4% of products exported from Saudi Arabia was bought by importers in: mainland China (15.2% of Saudi’s total), South Korea (9.4%), Japan (9.3%), India (8.9%), United Arab Emirates (7.6%), United States of America (4.2%), Poland (3.5%), Bahrain (3.2%), Egypt (2.8%), Taiwan (2.58%), Singapore (2.51%) and Malaysia (2.13%).
From a continental perspective, 73% of Saudi Arabian exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 14.3% was sold to importers in Europe. Saudi Arabia shipped another 6.4% worth of goods to buyers located in Africa.
Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (4.7%), Latin America (1.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Saudi Arabia’s population of 35.3 million people, its total $305.4 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $8,700 for every resident in the Middle Eastern country. That dollar metric lags the average $9,100 per person one year earlier in 2023.
Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Saudi global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Saudi Arabia.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$223.4 billion (73.2% of total exports)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $18.6 billion (6.1%)
- Organic chemicals: $11.2 billion (3.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $8 billion (2.6%)
- Ships, boats: $7.8 billion (2.6%)
- Fertilizers: $5 billion (1.6%)
- Machinery including computers: $3.5 billion (1.1%)
- Gems, precious metals: $2.6 billion (0.8%)
- Aluminum: $2.43 billion (0.8%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $1.74 billion (0.6%)
Saudi Arabia ’s top 10 export product categories accounted for 93.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Electrical machinery and equipment was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 97.6% since 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was machinery including computers, which rose by 50.1%.
Saudi Arabia ‘s shipments of capital-intensive ships and boats posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 49.3% year over year.
The leading decliner among the top 10 Saudi Arabian export categories was inorganic chemicals, pulled down by a -13.7% drop.
Products Driving Biggest Saudi Trade Surpluses
Saudi Arabia garnered an estimated US$73.3 billion surplus in 2024, shrinking by a third (-33.3%) from $109.9 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2023.
The following types of Saudi product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$210.3 billion (Down by -9.4% since 2023)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $13.3 billion (Up by 3.6%)
- Organic chemicals: $8.5 billion (Down by -9.7%)
- Ships, boats: $5.2 billion (Reversing a -$2.1 billion deficit)
- Fertilizers: $4.8 billion (Up by 5.5%)
- Aluminum: $697.6 million (Up by 27%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $493.2 million (Down by -2.2%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $285.3 million (Reversing a -$7.3 million deficit)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $115.6 million (Up by 540.9%)
- Lead: $106 million (Up by 0.6%)
Historically Saudi Arabia has positive net exports in the international trade of petroleum: first and foremost crude oil but also refined petroleum oils and petroleum gases. In turn, these cashflows indicate Saudi Arabia’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels including oil category.
Products Causing Largest Saudi Trade Deficits
Below are exports from Saudi Arabia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Saudi Arabia’s goods trail Saudi importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$29.2 billion (Up by 22.2% since 2023)
- Vehicles: -$24.6 billion (Up by 3.5%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$18.1 billion (Up by 16.4%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$8.6 billion (Up by 17.6%)
- Gems, precious metals: -$7.8 billion (Up by 16.3%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$7.2 billion (Up by 49.6%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$5.5 billion (Up by 5.3%)
- Iron, steel: -$5.5 billion (Up by 33.7%)
- Cereals: -$5 billion (Up by 9.2%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$3.6 billion (Up by 11.8%)
Saudi Arabia has highly negative net exports and therefore notable international trade deficits for machinery as well as cars, trucks and automotive parts or accessories under the related product categories.
Saudi Export Companies
Twenty Saudi corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. The following companies are selected examples of leading companies headquartered in Saudi Arabia.
- Petro Rabigh (diversified chemicals)
- Saudi Arabian Fertilizers (specialized chemicals)
- Saudi Arabian Mining (diversified metals, mining)
- Saudi Basic Industries (diversified chemicals)
- Savola Group (food processing)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Saudi Arabia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Almarai (food processing)
- Petro Rabigh (diversified chemicals)
- Saudi Arabian Fertilizers (specialized chemicals)
- Saudi Arabian Mining (diversified metals)
- Saudi Aramco (oil, gas)
- Saudi Basic Industries (diversified chemicals)
- Savola Group (food processing)
- Tasnee (petrochemicals)
According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following firms represent smaller exporters from Saudi Arabia.
- Al Abeiry PVC Hose Factory (tubes/pipes/hoses, building/monument granite, furniture)
- Batook Chewing Gum Industries (turpentine oils, menthol, wines)
- Saudi Aramco Oil (petroleum)
- Saudi Basic Industries (acyclic hydrocarbons, polyethylene)
- Yamama Granite Marble (building/monument granite, wooden boxes/cases/crates)
In macroeconomic terms, Saudi Arabia’s total exported goods in 2024 represent 14.5% of its overall Gross Domestic Product ($2.109 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 14.5% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 13.3% for 2023, Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Saudi’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate averaged 3.5% at 2024, down from an average 4% for one year earlier according to International Monetary Fund metrics.
Saudi Arabia’s capital city is Riyadh.
See also Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Imports, China’s Top Trading Partners, India’s Top Trading Partners, Turkey’s Top Trading Partners and Singapore’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Middle East: Saudi Arabia. Accessed on April 25, 2025
Forbes 2024 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 25, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 25, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 25, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 25, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 25, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Saudi Arabia. Accessed on April 25, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 25, 2025
Wikipedia, Saudi Arabia. Accessed on April 25, 2025
Zepol’s company summary highlights by country. Accessed on April 25, 2025