The question
How many establishments open in Saudi Arabia each year, and how many close? In which activity do openings abound, and in which do closures abound for every new establishment?
The figure
According to the Business Demography Statistics GASTAT published on 31 December 2025 (11 Rajab 1447 AH), Saudi Arabia had 1,022,982 active establishments in 2024 (Jumada al-Akhirah 1445 – Jumada al-Akhirah 1446 AH). During the year 320,318 new establishments opened and 139,807 closed.
So new establishments equal 31.3% of active ones and closed ones 13.7%, and the net is an increase of 180,511 establishments, or 17.6% of active ones. For every 100 new establishments, 44 closed.
Where do most open?
The construction section had 127,488 new establishments, 39.8% of all new establishments in Saudi Arabia, of which construction of buildings alone had 85,358.
The highest opening rate among the sections is in transportation and storage: new establishments there were 58.2% of active ones. It also has the fewest closures against openings among 17 sections: transportation and storage, 21 closed for every 100 new.
Construction and transport open a lot and close little; trade closes the most against new openings
Saudi Arabia, 2024, 17 sections of activity. Most closures per 100 new establishments first.
| Section | New | Closed | Closed per 100 new |
|---|---|---|---|
| All activities | 320,318 | 139,807 | 44 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 68,382 | 45,634 | 67 |
| Arts and recreation | 1,758 | 1,120 | 64 |
| Administrative and support services | 9,034 | 5,668 | 63 |
| Accommodation and food services | 25,290 | 15,577 | 62 |
| Electricity and gas | 172 | 105 | 61 |
| Other services | 13,947 | 7,692 | 55 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 7,707 | 3,932 | 51 |
| Real estate activities | 6,954 | 3,457 | 50 |
| Water supply and sewerage | 851 | 401 | 47 |
| Information and communication | 4,793 | 1,979 | 41 |
| Education | 1,317 | 519 | 39 |
| Manufacturing | 26,786 | 10,267 | 38 |
| Mining and quarrying | 704 | 236 | 34 |
| Health and social work | 1,650 | 548 | 33 |
| Construction | 127,488 | 37,651 | 30 |
| Finance and insurance activities | 965 | 216 | 22 |
| Transportation and storage | 22,520 | 4,805 | 21 |
Where do most close against new openings?
The highest figure among the sections is in wholesale and retail trade, 67 closed for every 100 new: 68,382 opened and 45,634 closed.
The picture is similar in two activities people know: retail trade 67 closed for every 100 new (39,716 new and 26,764 closed), and restaurants, cafés and food services 63 (23,535 new and 14,786 closed).
We compared 28 detailed activities, each with 5,000 or more active establishments:
- Highest: manufacture of fabricated metal products, 108 closed for every 100 new, meaning more closed than opened; it is the only one among them like that. Next come advertising and market research, 79, and repair of computers and personal and household goods, 78.
- Lowest: manufacture of non-metallic mineral products, 13, and warehousing and support activities for transport, 16.
What this means for your decision
The figure describes the whole activity, not a particular establishment, and does not say whether a new establishment will last.
- For anyone thinking of opening an establishment: the activity’s figure describes the market they would enter. In an activity where 67 close for every 100 new, such as retail trade, many come in and many go out, and new competitors arrive every year.
- For those who lease shops or serve establishments: an activity that opens a lot and closes little, such as construction and transport, means new establishments that need space and services; an activity where many close means more turnover among tenants and customers.
- For researchers: the figures describe the movement in and out of each activity during a year; they do not say why establishments closed.
An analytical reading, not financial advice; the decision and its responsibility are yours.
Limits of the figure
- The survival rate is not published: GASTAT does not publish how many of the establishments opened in a given year remained one or three years later, so we do not know it and do not estimate it. The closest figure that can be calculated is that 86.3% of active establishments did not close during the year, and this is not the survival rate of new establishments.
- “Closed per 100 new” is our calculation for a single year, and the establishments closed in a year are not necessarily among those opened in it.
- The bulletin covers Saudi Arabia as a whole, with no breakdown by region or city.
- GASTAT publishes 84 activities, some of them small in number; so the detailed comparison is limited to those with 5,000 or more active establishments.
Source: General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Saudi Arabia, the official source of the original data. DataPulse organised the data and made calculations on it (such as percentage changes and regrouping). This processing and its results are ours; they are not an official statistic issued by GASTAT and do not imply its endorsement. Reuse terms: GASTAT data use policy. We do not use GASTAT’s logo or marks.
The source statement in Arabic (the Arabic text governs; the English above is a summary)
المصدر: الهيئة العامة للإحصاء (المملكة العربية السعودية) — إحصاءات ديموغرافية الأعمال 2024 (المنشآت النشطة والجديدة والمغلقة حسب النشاط)، وهي المصدر الرسمي للبيانات الأصلية. أجرت «نبض البيانات» على البيانات تنظيمًا وحسابًا (مثل: حساب نسب التغيّر وإعادة التجميع). هذه المعالجة والنتائج من إعدادنا وليست إحصاءً رسميًا صادرًا عن الهيئة، ولا تعني تزكية منها.
شروط إعادة الاستخدام: سياسة استخدام بيانات الهيئة. لا نستخدم شعار الهيئة ولا علاماتها.
Full official figures: Establishments and business: the official figures · Business vitality by activity · All insights(Arabic)
Translated from the Arabic reading; the Arabic text is the original. The original reading(Arabic)