Indicators
An indicator is a composite figure updated regularly, with its definition in words, its source and its frequency. 6 of 10 are available now. The official figures themselves are in Data.
Spending accounts for 3 of the 10 the indicators on this page. The rest come from other domains: spending is one source among many.
- Spending 3
- Prices 2
- Real estate and housing 1
- Labour 1
- Establishments and business 1
- Tourism 1
- Seasons and calendar 1
We shape this list around how you use it, and move dates earlier or later by priority. Dates are estimates and are updated here.
Indicators
From housing, prices, labour, business and tourism, not from spending alone- AvailablePrices
Cost of living by region
- Definition
- How much consumer prices in your region changed compared with last year, and how much more a household pays than it did in 2023, with an estimate for the next six months and its past error rate.
- Source
- GASTAT: consumer prices by region, and the Household Expenditure Survey
- Frequency
- Monthly
Latest reading: prices in the Kingdom +1.8% on last year.
Open - PausedSpending
Retail index for commercial real estate
- Definition
- Which activity is growing in which city: a monthly index of spending on each activity in each city, base year 2024. It does not measure rent or occupancy, and it is not a property valuation.
- Source
- SAMA: point-of-sale spending by city and activity
- Frequency
- Monthly
Paused since 4 October 2026 (23 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH) until the legal licensing of analysis connected to the real-estate sector is confirmed.
- PausedReal estate and housing
Housing affordability by region
- Definition
- How much housing prices in your region have risen since the base year, compared with household income there relative to the national average. A general price index, not the value of any specific property.
- Source
- GASTAT: Real Estate Price Index, and the Household Income Survey 2024
- Frequency
- Quarterly
Paused since 4 October 2026 (23 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH) until the legal licensing of analysis connected to the real-estate sector is confirmed.
- AvailablePrices
Price gap between regions
- Definition
- The difference between the highest and lowest region in price change over a year, for the headline figure and each division (food, housing, transport…). It measures change, not which region is more expensive.
- Source
- GASTAT: consumer prices by region and division
- Frequency
- Monthly
- AvailableSpending
Cash share of payments
- Definition
- The value of ATM cash withdrawals divided by the sum of cash withdrawals and card purchases, monthly since 1996. It excludes transfers and digital wallets.
- Source
- SAMA: ATMs and point of sale
- Frequency
- Monthly
- AvailableEstablishments and business
Business vitality by activity
- Definition
- For each activity: new minus closed establishments, divided by existing establishments, and the share that survived the year, compared with growth in people’s spending on the same activity.
- Source
- GASTAT: Business Demography; and SAMA
- Frequency
- Annual
- AvailableLabour
Labour market pulse by region
- Definition
- The unemployment rate in each region for Saudis and non-Saudis and its change over a year, with the employment and participation rates and the average monthly wage by region (latest: Q4 2024 at the source).
- Source
- GASTAT: Labour Force Survey
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Coming soon · 5 November 2026 (25 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH)Spending
Card spending per resident
- Definition
- A city’s monthly card spending divided by its population in the 2022 Census, compared with the Kingdom. It includes visitors’ spending, so Makkah and Madinah come out higher than their populations.
- Source
- SAMA, and the Saudi Census 2022
- Frequency
- Monthly
Condition for publication: after the legal adviser’s opinion on the licence to use population data (2022 Census).
- Coming soon · 2 November 2026 (22 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH)Seasons and calendar
Season heat
- Definition
- A score from 1 to 5 for each of the next 52 weeks, from what happened to spending in the same Hijri week of past years, together with seasonal price changes, holidays and salary days. A description of what happened, not a forecast. Part of it is in the calendar today.
- Source
- SAMA, GASTAT and the Umm al-Qura calendar
- Frequency
- Weekly
Until it is published: Spending heat in the calendar
- AvailableTourism
Tourism pulse by region
- Definition
- Hotel occupancy and average room rate in each region, and the number of Umrah performers, each quarter compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Source
- GASTAT: tourism establishment and Umrah statistics
- Frequency
- Quarterly
How we check our figures
Methodology, our sources and independent checks- Our sources: a page for each sourceWhat we take from each source, its coverage, update timing at the source and here, its limits, and the attribution text: GASTAT, the 2022 Census, SAMA, KAPSARC, the calendar, what we calculate ourselves, and what we cannot reach.Composite (several domains)Available
- Independent check: card spending against the GASTAT surveyWhether card spending (SAMA) moves with retail-trade revenue in the GASTAT survey, quarter by quarter. We compare direction, not level, and publish the result even when it goes against us.Composite (several domains)Available
- Forecast log: every weekly estimate and what happened nextEvery next-week estimate in the data explorer, with what SAMA actually published, the error, whether the actual figure fell inside the range, and a running count since the log began.Composite (several domains)Available
- Second independent check: listed companiesGrowth in card spending in each activity against revenue growth of listed retail companies in the same activity, from their published quarterly statements. A first version is on the verification page now (the “Phase 2” section) and is updated with each quarter’s results. No opinion on any company or share.Establishments and businessAvailable
- Ramadan 1448 challenge: the locked forecastA forecast of spending in the four weeks of Ramadan for the Kingdom, 10 cities and 13 activities, locked before the season with its file fingerprint and never edited, then measured publicly every Thursday, with the verdict on 18 March 2027 (10 Shawwal 1448 AH). The page is published now with an explanation of the challenge and a back-test on Ramadan 1447.SpendingComing soon · 24 January 2027 (16 Sha'ban 1448 AH)