The General State Budget
The Ministry of Finance is committed to enhancing financial transparency and fostering community engagement by presenting the General State Budget on an annual basis. In addition, the ministry publishes quarterly reports and citizen-focused reports that highlight key financial data and economic developments. This approach enables the public and various institutions to access detailed information on the state's financial performance and better understand economic policies.
The ministry also keeps pace with technological advancements by providing digital platforms that facilitate easy access to government performance indicators, including detailed budget data for each ministry or authority through their official websites. These efforts reflect the Kingdom’s commitment to upholding the highest standards of transparency, strengthening public trust, and supporting citizen participation in the country’s economic development journey.
Government Spending Transparency
Saudi Arabia’s budget is closely aligned with the goals and objectives of Vision 2030. The Ministry of Finance is obligated to ensure the transparent preparation of the budget to guarantee sustainability and meet future aspirations. The budget undergoes legislative and regulatory audits and adheres to official systems.
The Basic Law of Governance and the General State Budget Law mandate all government entities to apply sound budget governance principles, including:
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Transparency, reliability, and predictability of fiscal policy.
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Alignment with Vision 2030 and other national strategies or priorities.
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Comprehensive and participatory budget planning discussions.
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Open data and documentation with transparency and accessibility.
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Accurate, comprehensive, and reliable public fund accounting.
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Effective budget implementation planning, management, and monitoring.
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Performance evaluation and value-for-money are essential parts of the budgeting process.
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Long-term sustainability, financial risk identification, assessment, and prudent management.
To ensure transparent government spending, each government entity is required to submit annual and quarterly reports to the Ministry of Finance. The ministry, in turn, publishes annual and quarterly performance reports on budget execution, along with final annual account summaries that detail expenditures and revenues.
The Etimad Platform plays a significant role in enhancing transparency and spending efficiency for its users, including government and regulatory entities, contractors, suppliers, merchants, and others. All government entities are mandated to use the platform for procurement and payment processes.
Furthermore, the Expenditure and Project Efficiency Authority (EXPRO) was established to improve spending efficiency across government entities, enhance project and asset quality, plan infrastructure effectively, and monitor the implementation of government programs and initiatives.
Open Data for the State Budget (Revenue and Expenditure)
As part of its commitment to transparency, accountability, and enabling community participation, the Ministry of Finance has published open data related to the General State Budget, including detailed information on revenues, expenditures, and sectoral allocations. This data is made available through the National Open Data Portal in an interactive and accessible format, empowering researchers and stakeholders to utilize it for analysis and decision-making.
The platform also offers interactive dashboards that visualize budget performance and financial indicators in a simplified and user-friendly way—reinforcing the ministry's commitment to best practices in fiscal transparency and digital transformation in the public sector.
These open data sets include various categories, such as:
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Macroeconomic data
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Financial data
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Economic classification of expenditures
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Economic classification of revenues
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Functional classification of expenditures
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Public debt balance
In addition, the ministry provides an annual presentation of the General State Budget, along with quarterly and citizen-oriented reports that highlight key financial figures and economic updates. This helps society and institutions gain better insight into the state's financial performance and understand the broader economic context.
By leveraging digital platforms to simplify access to government performance indicators, and providing detailed ministry-specific budget data via official websites, the Ministry of Finance demonstrates the Kingdom’s ongoing commitment to transparency, public trust, and citizen involvement in the nation’s economic development.
For more details
- To view the Kingdom’s General Budget, click here.
- Ministry of Finance