Official data showed that the operational revenue index in Saudi Arabia recorded an increase of 11.4% in May 2026, compared to the same month last year.

The General Authority for Statistics issued the short-term business indicators statistics bulletin for May 2026, where the index recorded

operational revenue

According to the bulletin, the rise in the operational revenue index was supported by growth in several economic activities, most notably mining and quarrying activity, which recorded an increase of 38.7%, and manufacturing activity, which increased by 9.6%.

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Wholesale and retail trade and repair of vehicles activity rose by 3.6%, while construction activity and financial and insurance activities rose by 2.5% and 12.9% respectively. On a monthly basis, the operational revenue index recorded an increase of 2.9% compared to April 2026. This was supported by a 0.6% increase in manufacturing activity, a 10.2% increase in mining and quarrying activity, a 1.3% increase in wholesale and retail trade and repair of vehicles activity, in addition to a 1.1% increase in financial and insurance activities, and a 1.9% increase in information and communication activities.

Building permits

Building permits issued during May 2026 saw a year-on-year decrease of 33.3%, reaching 5,056 permits compared to 7,584 permits in May 2025, while recording a monthly decrease of 25.7% compared to April 2026, which saw 6,803 permits issued. It is worth noting that the short-term business statistics product is an economic statistical product aimed at measuring the performance of various economic sectors in the short term through monthly indicators that track developments and growth rates for each activity, targeting all economic activities in establishments operating in the business sector in the Kingdom.