Exports from the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector in 2025 grew by 1,164.6% compared to the previous year, while imports from the sector grew by 18.2%. As a result, the trade balance was 155.4 thousand, 113.5% higher than the previous year.
Professional, scientific and technical activities sector achieved positive growth in the foreign direct investment (FDI) stock at the end of 2025, which amounted to 43.4 billion, compared to the FDI stock of 2024, which was 37.8 billion.
The inflows of FDI in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector grew by 43.0% in 2025 compared to the previous year, whereas the outflows of FDI showed an increase of 238.8% compared to previous period. Thus, the net flows amounted to 5.7 billion in 2025, while in 2024, it recorded 7.3 billion.
The overall distribution of the employed in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector reached 2.5% in second quarter of 2026, increased from last quarter by 0.02 percentage points (pp) and decreased from a year ago by 0.06 pp.
For its part, the average weekly working hours was 43.4 hours in the third quarter of 2023, registering a decrease of 0.9% compared to the previous period and a decrease of 0.2% compared to the same quarter of 2022.
The operating revenues of the sector reached 60.6 billion in 2024, an increase of 11.8% compared to the previous year. For its part, the operating expenses amounted to 23.3 billion, showing an increase of 11.7% compared to the previous period. As a result, the operating surplus of the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector was 26.2 billion, 10.6% higher than the previous period.
During September 2026, the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector secured 14.1 billion in commercial bank credits, higher by 3.9% than the value of the previous month and higher by 1.8% compared to the same month of the previous year.
The graph shows the monthly evolution of commercial bank credits in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
Exports of the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector reached 1.7 million in 2025. The primary destinations for these exports were United States of America ( 1.6 million), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ( 16.9 thousand), and Kingdom of Bahrain ( 422.5).
The graph shows annual exports of Professional, scientific and technical activities sector by country, measured in trade value.
In April 2026, the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector recorded exports amounting 1.6 million and imports totaling 19.3 thousand, resulting in a trade balance surplus of 1.6 million.
The graph shows the monthly evolution of exports and imports in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector, with the line representing the trade balance.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, there were 123 registered in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector, representing a 10.9% decrease compared to the previous period.
The graph shows the quarterly trend in the number of foreign licenses obtained by the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
In 2025, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock reached 43.4 billion, marking an increased of 15% compared to the previous year.
The graph shows the annual evolution of the FDI stock in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
In 2025, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Inflow amounted to 14.0 billion, while the FDI Outflow stood at 8.4 billion. Consequently, the FDI Net Inflow was 5.7 billion, reflecting a decreased of 22.8% compared to the previous year.
The graph illustrates the annual progression of FDI Inflow and Outflow in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector. The line chart represents the FDI Net Inflow.
Note:
FDI inflows: Financial transactions that arise between the FDI institution, direct investors and related companies outside the Saudi economy, which occur during a certain period of time, and form inflows when their positive impact appears in excess of equity and/or debt instruments.
FDI outflows: These are financial transactions that arise between the Foreign Direct Investment Corporation, direct investors, and related companies outside the Saudi economy, and which occur during a certain period of time. They are outflows when their impact appears in a decrease in the side of obligations, such as paid dividends or repayment of loans and credit receivables, or when the foreign shareholder exits.
FDI net inflow: It represents the difference between inflows and outflows of foreign direct investment inflows.
In the second quarter of 2026, the percentage distribution of employed people in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector reached 2.5%, with 2.5% for men and 2.2% for women.
The graph shows the quarterly evolution of the percentage distribution of employed people by gender in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
During the third quarter of 2023, the average hours worked by Saudi men were 42.7, compared to 44.6 hours for non-Saudi men. Likewise, Saudi women averaged 38.4 hours, while non-Saudi women worked an average of 42.1 hours.
The graph shows the average weekly working hours by gender and nationality in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
During the second quarter of 2026, a total of 300,645 participants on the job Subject to the rules and regulations of social insurance were registered in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector, with 80.0% being men (240,415 participants) and 20.0% women (60,230 participants).
The graph shows the quarterly evolution of the number of participants on the job Subject to the rules and regulations of social insurance by gender in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
In 2022 on-the-job subscribers in the private sector was 64,854 for Saudi men and 133,711 for non-Saudi men. On-the-job subscribers was 44,174 for saudi women and 5,347 for non-Saudi women.
The graph shows on-the-job subscribers in the private sector by gender and nationality in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
In 2018, there were 12,677 establishments registered in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector, of which 66.4% had less than 5 employees, 28.2% had between 5 and 19 employees and 5.4% had more than 20 employees.
The graph shows the annual distribution of establishments categorized by size based on the number of employees in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
In 2024, the operating revenues reached 60.6 billion, while operating expenses amounted to 23.3 billion, resulting in an operating surplus of 26.2 billion for the year.
The graph shows the annual evolution of operating expenses and operating revenues, with the line representing the operating surplus each year.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
In 2017 net assets reached an amount of 166.4 million, being lower in 6.2% compared to the previous year.
The graph shows the annual evolution of net assets in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
In 2024, the operating revenues reached 5.1 billion in micro establishments, while operating expenses amounted to 1.7 billion, generating a surplus of 2.4 billion.
The graph shows the annual evolution of operating expenses and operating revenues, with the line representing the operating surplus each year in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector for micro establishments.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
In 2024, micro enterprises of the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector spent 926.4 million in employee compensation, while small enterprises spent 2.7 billion and medium-sized enterprises spent 4.4 billion. This amounts to a total of 8.0 billion for the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
The graph shows employee compensation by enterprise size over the years in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Note: Sectors have been reclassified as per ISIC 4 standard.
In 2024, the number of active enterprises in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector was 29,714.
The chart shows the number of Active Enterprises in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector by year.
In August 2026, the Operating Revenues Index in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector stood at 122.7.
The chart shows the monthly evolution of the Operating Revenues Index in Professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
According to the Digital Economy Survey carried out by the General Authority for Statistics in 2022, in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector the use of having account on social media platforms (63.0%) and using systems or devices connected to the Internet (59.8%) are highlighted as the most relevant indicators of adoption and use of the digital economy.
The graph shows the percentage of establishments in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector according to indicators of use and adoption of the digital economy.
