Saudi citizens have high hopes for the Kingdom’s economic future: The Kingdom’s Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI) hit 72.7 in May 2024, signaling strong consumer optimism about the economy, according to global market research and consulting firm Ipsos in its latest report for May 2024 (pdf).

Uhm, Enterprise? What’s the PCSI? The index gauges consumer confidence based on survey responses to questions about the economy, each respondent’s financial situations, the investment climate, comfort with making major purchases, and employment.

The bottom line: We’re far more satisfied with our personal financial positions and are more optimistic about the economy than the global average — but ever-so-slightly less certain about job security than the the rest of the world.

Major worries: The top concerns for consumers include inflation (44%), unemployment (30%), taxes (28%), climate change (26%), and COVID-19 (21%). Concerns about inflation, climate change, taxes, and poverty have risen compared to April 2024, while worries about unemployment, healthcare, and crimes dropped.

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73% of respondents consider the economy to be strong, while 24% are neutral. Looking ahead, 87% are optimistic, expecting the economy to improve over the next six months. Some 47% of respondents described their personal financial situation as “strong,” 8% as neutral, and 45% as weak. But, 77% are hopeful for an improvement in their financial situation within the next six months. Additionally, 78% say they feel more secure in their jobs than they did six months ago, 77% are more comfortable making major purchases and 75% are optimistic about future investment.

The Kingdom’s average PCSI is 22.5 points higher than the global average (50.2) and we scored the highest on the right direction / wrong track global comparison, with 95% of respondents saying they think the economy is on the right track, a 300 bps uptick from April.

By the numbers:

  • The Saudi personal financial conditions score was 77.2 — vastly higher than the global average of 40.7;
  • Economic expectations came in at 76.4 — 17.7 points higher than the global average; Employment Confidence was at 57.4 — slightly below the global average of 59.5.

Methodology: The survey was based on self-administered online interviews with a sample of 500 respondents aged 15 and above from the general public.

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