Spending on pharmacies in Saudi Arabia

Spending on pharmacies in Saudi Arabia: SAR 11,989 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 209.4 million, −3.8% against the same week last year. Last 3 months −31.4% against the same months last year. Riyadh leads with 34.2% of Saudi Arabia over the last 12 months. Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

Card spending on pharmacies 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

Card spending on pharmacies in Saudi Arabia · week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH

209.4 SAR million

−3.8% against the same week last year · rank 19 of 30 activities · 1.6% of Saudi Arabia’s spending this week

What this means for your decisionThe last 3 months are −31.4%, but the latest week is −3.8% against last year. A gap this large comes from an exceptional week or a change in the monthly series, not a clear signal about demand, so do not base a decision on either figure alone; follow the trend of the weekly bars below.

SAR million per week · oldest on the left, newest on the right (in amber) · axis: Gregorian month, then Hijri month (Umm al-Qura). Highest week 305.8, lowest 188.1.

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)

11,989SAR million · −31.4% in the last 3 months against last year · SAMA

−11.9%full year 2025 against 2024 · SAMA

1.6%share of the activity in Saudi Arabia’s total card spending over the last 12 months

Transactions in the same week

3.5million transactions · −4.4% against the same week last year

59.0SAR average transaction value (value ÷ number) · +0.6% against the same week last year

This week in the Spending Index newsletter, issue 2: what changed and why

Data coverage: these figures are card payments (point of sale) only: about 57% of personal spending in 2025; the rest is cash and does not appear here. Part of the growth is a shift from cash to cards, not new demand: in 2025, card payments in Saudi Arabia grew +5.8%, but including cash withdrawals the growth is +1.9%. Read the figures as a trend and a comparison between cities and activities, not as an absolute market size.

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)	1,060	−31.4%
October 2025 (Rabi' al-Akhir – Jumada al-Ula 1447 AH)	1,062	−33.0%
November 2025 (Jumada al-Ula – Jumada al-Akhirah 1447 AH)	984	−34.6%
December 2025 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1447 AH)	971	−39.6%
January 2026 (Rajab – Sha'ban 1447 AH)	1,006	−38.0%
February 2026 (Sha'ban – Ramadan 1447 AH)	928	−35.4%
March 2026 (Ramadan – Shawwal 1447 AH)	1,040	−37.9%
April 2026 (Shawwal – Dhu al-Qa'dah 1447 AH)	987	−32.0%
May 2026 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 AH)	1,041	−35.0%
June 2026 (Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 – Muharram 1448 AH)	923	−38.3%
July 2026 (Muharram – Safar 1448 AH)	1,001	−33.4%
August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH)	984	−20.5%

Leading cities in pharmacies

The top 15 cities by spending on pharmacies 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	4,101	34.2%
02	Jeddah	1,160	9.7%
03	Taif	481	4.0%
04	Makkah	446	3.7%
05	Madinah	371	3.1%
06	Dammam	354	2.9%
07	Buraidah	334	2.8%
08	Al Khobar	326	2.7%
09	Hail	317	2.6%
10	Tabuk	278	2.3%
11	Khamis Mushait	200	1.7%
12	Al-Kharj	194	1.6%
13	Sabya	167	1.4%
14	Abha	153	1.3%
15	Hafr Al-Batin	151	1.3%

Seasonality

Usually the highest months: March, May, January (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 Professional services Public utilities Recreation Recreation and culture Restaurants and cafés Telecommunications Total spending 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.