Saudi Arabia’s services trade deficit is shrinking, with exports of international trade services rising 26.5% y-o-y in 3Q 2025 to SAR 58.2 bn, according to data (pdf) from the General Authority for Statistics. Total services exports hit SAR 58.2 bn during the quarter, up 26.5% y-o-y, while imports grew at a slower 5.3% to reach SAR 120.8 bn.

The export growth was primarily driven by travel services, which accounted for 58.1% of the total. Exports of transportation services followed at SAR 9.7 bn (16.7%), with air travel accounting for 39.6% of that figure. Also contributing to the total: Communications, computers, and information services (4%), construction (3.3%), and government services (3.6%).

Meanwhile, transportation services dominated imports at SAR 32.3 bn, contributing 26.7% to the total, followed closely by travel services at SAR 30.8 bn (25.5%). The remaining imports were construction services (15.3%), other business services (12%), government services (5%), and ins. and pension services (4.2%).

Keep an eye on transport exports

What’s next: While air transport currently leads the transport exports category, the anticipated launch of Riyadh Air and the expansion of the Landbridge rail project are the next structural levers intended to flip the transport balance from a net drain to a revenue driver.

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