Saudi Arabia’s 2020 budget deficit came in lower than the government projected in December, amid higher-than-expected revenues. The final tally of $78.4bn was still vast, but was $1bn less than the ministry of finance had initially accounted for (MEES, 18 December 2020).
The release of final government statistics confirms the more than doubling of the annual deficit from 2019’s $35.4bn (see table), with the increase entirely down to the pandemic-induced collapse in oil revenues. Still, despite the severity of the generational shock to oil markets, the deficit was far from the worst in recent history. It was well short of 2016’s $82.9bn, let alone 2015’s $103.6bn. (CONTINUED - 587 WORDS)
