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GCC Statistical Center Praises Saudi Arabia's Achievements on 94th National Day

Saudi Arabia lends great support to its non-oil sectors, as part of its economic diversification plan, with non-oil activities contributing 68.4% to the GDP in 2023. (Photo by SPA)
Saudi Arabia lends great support to its non-oil sectors, as part of its economic diversification plan, with non-oil activities contributing 68.4% to the GDP in 2023. (Photo by SPA)
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GCC Statistical Center Praises Saudi Arabia's Achievements on 94th National Day

Saudi Arabia lends great support to its non-oil sectors, as part of its economic diversification plan, with non-oil activities contributing 68.4% to the GDP in 2023. (Photo by SPA)
Saudi Arabia lends great support to its non-oil sectors, as part of its economic diversification plan, with non-oil activities contributing 68.4% to the GDP in 2023. (Photo by SPA)

The Gulf Cooperation Council Statistical Center praised the remarkable achievements made throughout Saudi Arabia during its 94-year journey, highlighting key statistics in various economic, social, and international competitiveness fields.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has continued to make significant strides in development, aiming to build a prosperous and sustainable economic foundation by capitalizing on its abundant opportunities and resources. This progress has placed it among the world's most advanced countries, in line with its leadership's aspirations, SPA reported.
Saudi Arabia lends great support to its non-oil sectors, as part of its economic diversification plan, with non-oil activities contributing 68.4% to the GDP in 2023.
Commercial banks assets grew to $1 trillion in 2023, compared to $965.6 billion in 2022, marking a growth rate of 9.3%. Furthermore, the market value of the Saudi stock exchange reached $3 trillion in 2023.
The education sector has also witnessed significant development, at all levels. The number of school students increased to 6.1 million during the 2022/2023 scholastic year, compared to 5.8 million students in the 2018/2019 academic year, marking a growth rate of 5.3%.
The Saudi Vision 2030 has focused on developing the tourism sector, as part of its economic diversification program, given its potential for diversifying the sources of income and creating jobs. In 2023, 30.1 million people visited Saudi Arabia, compared to 18.3 million in 2022, a growth rate of 65%. Visitor spending in the Kingdom amounted to $40.6 billion in 2023, up from $29.7 billion in 2022, representing a 36.6% increase.
Saudi Arabia is also improving its global competitiveness, as evidenced by its top rankings in several international reports. These include first place in several indicators, such as the Global Cybersecurity Index, the Internet Users Index, the Long-Term Unemployment Growth Index, the Social Cohesion Index, and the Long-Term Labor Market Growth Index, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024.
In entrepreneurship, Saudi Arabia ranked first globally in several indicators, including ease of starting a business and the availability of good opportunities to start a business, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2023/2024 Global Report.

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Colombia Joins Belt and Road Initiative as China Courts Latin America 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 May 2025. (EPA /Xinhua / Huang Jingwen)
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 May 2025. (EPA /Xinhua / Huang Jingwen)
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Colombia Joins Belt and Road Initiative as China Courts Latin America 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 May 2025. (EPA /Xinhua / Huang Jingwen)
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 May 2025. (EPA /Xinhua / Huang Jingwen)

Colombia formally agreed on Wednesday to join China's vast Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, as Beijing draws Latin America closer in a bid to counter the United States.

Latin America has emerged as a key battleground in US President Donald Trump's confrontations with China, and the region is coming under pressure from Washington to choose a side.

China has surpassed the United States as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru, Chile and other Latin American nations, and two-thirds of countries there have signed up to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's Belt and Road infrastructure drive.

On the sidelines of a major gathering of regional leaders in Beijing on Wednesday, Colombia became the latest country to join the massive global initiative.

Colombia's foreign ministry hailed the agreement as a "historic step that opens up new opportunities for investment, technological cooperation, and sustainable development for both countries".

And after a meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Xi urged the countries to take the opportunity of Colombia formally joining the "Belt and Road Initiative family" to enhance their cooperation, Beijing's state media said.

Posting a video of the signing to social media platform X, Petro wrote that "the history of our foreign relations is changing".

"From now on, Colombia will interact with the entire world on a footing of equality and freedom," he wrote.

The BRI is a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's economic and political clout overseas.

For more than a decade, it has provided investment for infrastructure and other large-scale projects around the world, offering Beijing political and economic leverage in return.

Last year, Xi inaugurated Latin America's first Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru -- a symbol of the Asian superpower's growing influence on the continent.

- 'Defenders of free trade' -

This week's China-CELAC Forum in Beijing has seen China cast itself as the defender of the multilateral order and the backer of the Global South, with Xi pledging on Monday $9.2 billion in credit towards development.

That pledge was part of a broad set of initiatives aimed at deepening cooperation, including on infrastructure and clean energy.

Beijing will also cooperate in counterterrorism and fighting transnational organized crime, Xi said, as well as enhancing exchanges such as scholarships and training programs.

During a meeting with Chilean President Gabriel Boric on Wednesday, Xi said that the "resurgence of unilateralism and protectionism is severely impacting the international economic and trade order," according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

"As staunch defenders of multilateralism and free trade, China and Chile should strengthen multilateral coordination and jointly safeguard the common interests of the Global South," Xi told Boric.

Also in attendance at the China-CELAC forum was Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived in Beijing on Saturday for a five-day state visit.

Addressing delegates, Lula said his region did not "want to repeat history and start a new Cold War", adding: "Our goal is to be an asset to the multilateral order for a global good".

In talks with Lula on Tuesday, Xi said the two countries should "strengthen cooperation" and together "oppose unilateralism", according to Chinese state media.

The United States and China have faced off in Latin America, including over the Panama Canal, which Trump has for months vowed to reclaim from alleged Chinese influence.

Washington considered a Hong Kong company's operation of ports at both ends of the interoceanic waterway to be a threat to its national security, but Beijing has dismissed the claims.

And China's market regulator is looking into a deal by Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison to offload 43 ports in 23 countries -- including its two on the Panama Canal -- to a US-led consortium.

The world's two largest economies are two of the top users of the canal, through which five percent of all global shipping passes.