Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 surpasses key milestones
Saudi Arabia is making rapid progress towards its ambitious Vision 2030 goals, with major strides in economic diversification, foreign direct investment (FDI) and social reforms, according to Fahad Al-Hashem, assistant deputy minister for international development in the Saudi Ministry of Investment.
Speaking to Real Asset Media’s Richard Betts at MIPIM 2025, Al-Hashem underscored the Kingdom’s transformation from an oil-dependent economy to one where 52% of GDP now comes from non-oil sectors. “When we started, we never imagined we would achieve this level of diversification so soon,” he said. The Saudi economy has also grown significantly, surpassing the $1 trillion GDP mark in 2023 and positioning itself among the world’s top 15 economies.
Saudi Arabia’s private sector is expanding at a steady pace, with its contribution to GDP increasing by 4.68% in 2023. The country is also seeing a sharp rise in non-oil GDP, which has nearly doubled from 16% to 24% since Vision 2030’s inception. Al-Hashem highlighted the surge in FDI, which grew from 1.3% of GDP at the program’s start to 2.4% in 2023.
Among the most notable successes, he pointed to the dramatic increase in women’s workforce participation, which has soared from 18% to 36% — seven years ahead of target. “The most important achievements of Vision 2030 are the social reforms. We aimed for 30% female participation by 2030, and we’ve already surpassed it,” he stated.
The Kingdom’s tourism sector, once reliant solely on religious visitors, has flourished. Saudi Arabia had set a target of 100 million visits annually by 2030 but reached this milestone six years early, prompting an upward revision to 150 million. Meanwhile, unemployment rates have dropped from 12% to 7.3%, nearly meeting the 2030 goal of 7% ahead of schedule.
Al-Hashem emphasised that Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects, including NEOM, Diriyah and the Red Sea development, are attracting global investors. “We’re not just looking for capital; we need partners across the entire value chain,” he said, adding that Saudi Arabia’s investment platform is designed to create business opportunities across sectors.
With $1.5 trillion in construction projects underway, Al-Hashem reaffirmed that the Kingdom remains open to international collaboration. “We’re not building another San Francisco or Dubai; we’re creating something uniquely Saudi—authentic, inclusive and globally competitive,” he concluded.
