Total spending in Saudi Arabia
Total spending in Saudi Arabia: SAR 735,498 million by card over the last 12 months to August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH). In the latest week (13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH): SAR 12,922.0 million, +4.2% against the same week last year. Last 3 months +6.0% against the same months last year. Riyadh leads with 34.3% of Saudi Arabia over the last 12 months. Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).
Card spending on all activities in Saudi Arabia, monthly since January 2024 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1445 AH), and the leading cities, from the point-of-sale statistics published by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). Official figures · match SAMA’s published figures within rounding Coverage: cards only, ~57% of personal spending
Total card spending in Saudi Arabia · week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH
12,922.0 SAR million
+4.2% against the same week last year
What this means for your decisionLast 3 months: +6.0% against the same months last year. This is the baseline: measure any activity's or city's growth against it. Whatever grows faster is gaining a share of people's spending; whatever grows more slowly is losing it.
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), weekly point-of-sale bulletins (value of transactions), latest published week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH. Attributed to SAMA; the analysis is ours.
Last 12 months to August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH)
Transactions in the same week
This week in the Spending Index newsletter, issue 2: what changed and why
Interactive analysis: forecasts and seasons for every city(Arabic)
Monthly spending
| Month | SAR million | vs same month last year |
|---|---|---|
| September 2025 (Rabi' al-Awwal – Rabi' al-Akhir 1447 AH) | 58,241 | +6.2% |
| October 2025 (Rabi' al-Akhir – Jumada al-Ula 1447 AH) | 59,861 | +7.4% |
| November 2025 (Jumada al-Ula – Jumada al-Akhirah 1447 AH) | 59,011 | +4.5% |
| December 2025 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1447 AH) | 61,141 | +3.5% |
| January 2026 (Rajab – Sha'ban 1447 AH) | 63,691 | +9.4% |
| February 2026 (Sha'ban – Ramadan 1447 AH) | 59,881 | +3.5% |
| March 2026 (Ramadan – Shawwal 1447 AH) | 66,141 | +0.7% |
| April 2026 (Shawwal – Dhu al-Qa'dah 1447 AH) | 58,401 | +11.8% |
| May 2026 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 AH) | 63,111 | +6.1% |
| June 2026 (Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 – Muharram 1448 AH) | 57,481 | +6.5% |
| July 2026 (Muharram – Safar 1448 AH) | 62,851 | +6.7% |
| August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH) | 65,691 | +5.0% |
Leading cities in all activities
The top 15 cities by spending on all activities over the last 12 months to August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH), and each one’s share of Saudi Arabia. Source: SAMA (point of sale).
| # | City | 12 months, SAR million | Share of Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Riyadh | 252,610 | 34.3% |
| 02 | Jeddah | 100,781 | 13.7% |
| 03 | Dammam | 35,960 | 4.9% |
| 04 | Makkah | 31,061 | 4.2% |
| 05 | Madinah | 29,425 | 4.0% |
| 06 | Al Khobar | 20,741 | 2.8% |
| 07 | Buraidah | 18,217 | 2.5% |
| 08 | Taif | 16,626 | 2.3% |
| 09 | Khamis Mushait | 15,037 | 2.0% |
| 10 | Tabuk | 13,058 | 1.8% |
| 11 | Hail | 11,657 | 1.6% |
| 12 | Abha | 9,244 | 1.3% |
| 13 | Jazan | 8,504 | 1.2% |
| 14 | Najran | 8,193 | 1.1% |
| 15 | Al-Jubail | 7,750 | 1.1% |
Seasonality
Usually the highest months: March, August, December (average of 2024–2025).
Other activities
Airlines Bakeries and sweets Books and stationery Building materials Car rental Clothing and footwear Education Electronics Freight and courier Fuel stations Furniture and furnishings Groceries and food Health Hotels Jewellery Laundries Medical services Other Other transport Personal care Pharmacies Professional services Public utilities Recreation Recreation and culture Restaurants and cafés Telecommunications Transport Vehicle maintenance Vehicle trade
Source and method
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Statistical Report (point of sale, value of transactions) and the weekly bulletins; data published for the public and attributed to it. We matched the portal figures with the bulletins (3,172 figures, average difference 0.001%). Growth is measured against the same months of the previous year to remove seasonal effects. The figures are card payments only, and part of their growth is a shift from cash, not new demand; see Data coverage above for the figures.