According to a recent survey carried out by Ipsos, a global leader in market research, Saudi Arabia has been ranked the most trusted nation when it comes to economic trends. The Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI) was conducted by the French market research company between March 25 and April 3, with Saudi Arabia coming in second with 71.2 percent score. This puts it above other industrial nations such as the United States and China, having gained a 7 percent score since February 2022.
When it comes to personal financial situation, however, Saudi Arabia came on top with 45 percent of participants stating that the Kingdom’s financial situation is strong. Furthermore, 77 percent felt more comfortable in making a purchase, with 91 percent believing that the Kingdom is heading in the right direction.
This comes as the global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in industrial nations reducing their economic output as a result of lockdowns and other measures. In fact, COVID-19 ranks on top of Saudi Arabia’s concerns followed by unemployment, but it has also seen a reduced overall concern by -18 points since January.
Regardless, however, Saudi Arabia is confident in achieving its economic goals in line with its Vision 2030 program. In the next six months, the majority of survey participants had shown optimism towards the Kingdom’s economic outlook, with 82 expecting the economy in their local areas to be stronger in the future.
Furthermore, in the first quarter of 2022, The National had also reported that Saudi Arabia is projected to increase its oil GDP by 15 percent annually, as part of its current OPEC+ agreement. This comes as oil demand began seeing an increase since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the Kingdom’s economy anticipating an increase by 7.7 percent compared to 3.3 percent in 2021.
