Saudi Vision 2030 Enters Final Phase With 93% of Targets Achieved
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announces the third and final phase of Saudi Arabia's ambitious transformation program as the Kingdom celebrates a decade of unprecedented economic and social progress.
Ten years after launching one of the most ambitious national transformation programs in modern history, Saudi Arabia is entering the final chapter of its Vision 2030 journey—and the results are striking.
Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman confirmed this week that Saudi Vision 2030 has entered its third and final phase (2026–2030), describing it as the “peak implementation stage” for the Kingdom’s sweeping economic diversification strategy.
A Decade of Transformation
Speaking at the Council of Economic and Development Affairs meeting on Monday, the Crown Prince emphasized that Vision 2030 has “maintained its development momentum and delivered major achievements despite global volatility and economic and political disruptions over the past decade.”
The Vision, unveiled in 2016, was designed to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil revenues by transforming the Kingdom into a global investment powerhouse and tourism destination. A decade later, the numbers tell a remarkable story.
By the Numbers: What 10 Years Looks Like
The Kingdom’s economic transformation has exceeded expectations across nearly every metric:
- GDP: Reached SR4.9 trillion ($1.31 trillion) by the end of 2025
- Tourism: 123 million visitors—well above the original 2030 target of 100 million (now raised to 150 million)
- Non-oil sector contribution: 55% of GDP, up from roughly 38% in 2016
- Foreign direct investment: Increased fivefold from SR28 billion ($7.5 billion) in 2017 to SR133 billion ($35.5 billion) in 2025
- International companies: More than 700 have established regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia
- Small and medium enterprises: Tripled to over 1.7 million
- Unemployment: Dropped from 12.3% in 2016 to 7.2% in 2025
- Women’s labor participation: Rose from 22.8% to 35%
- Factories: Grown to 12,900 with approximately SR1.2 trillion ($320 billion) in investments
- Non-oil exports: More than doubled from SR242 billion to SR623 billion
- Renewable energy capacity: Exploded from zero in 2016 to 64 gigawatts by end of 2025
The Kingdom also climbed more than 20 places in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking to 17th globally, and ranks third among G20 countries for growth projections for 2026 and 2027, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The Final Phase: What’s Next
The Council of Economic and Development Affairs reported that 93% of performance indicators have achieved or are nearing targets, with 90% of the Vision’s 1,290 initiatives completed or on track.
The Crown Prince stated that the final five-year phase will “maintain focus on long-term goals while adapting execution methods to meet the needs of the stage ahead.”
Key priorities for 2026–2030 include:
- Accelerating delivery of remaining programs and strategies
- Sustained government spending with expanded private sector participation
- Increased investment mobilization through the Public Investment Fund and National Development Fund
- Continued development of national talent
“The Vision’s most important investment since launch has been—and will remain—Saudi men and women through training, performance development, raising efficiency and strengthening their competitiveness globally,” the Crown Prince said.
Beyond 2030
Perhaps most significantly, the Council emphasized that Vision 2030 is not intended as an endpoint but as a foundation. “It will serve as a foundation for continued growth in the decades ahead,” the statement read.
Major projects including NEOM, the Red Sea development, Diriyah, and Qiddiya continue to drive diversification and global positioning, alongside progress in logistics, tourism, and infrastructure.
The Public Investment Fund’s assets under management have grown from SR720 billion in 2015 to over SR3.4 trillion ($906 billion), with SR750 billion invested domestically over the past five years.
As Saudi Arabia enters this decisive final phase, the Kingdom stands at an inflection point—having largely proven that a resource-dependent economy can fundamentally transform itself in less than a decade. The question now is not whether Vision 2030 will succeed, but what comes after.