Advertising in Saudi Arabia - statistics & facts

The Middle East is on track to become one of the world’s fastest growing advertising markets, with advertising spending in the MENA region forecast to reach more than 12 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Saudi Arabia has been driving this growth through its drastic and ongoing digital transformation. In 2023, Saudi Arabia’s advertising market was estimated at around two billion U.S. dollars – making it the biggest in the region.

The Saudi Arabian advertising market transformation

  Before Saudi’s steps towards economic, social, and cultural diversification, traditional advertising dominated the industry. Newspapers, TV, and magazines were perceived as more reliable sources than digital platforms. There was more control over media and advertising, which presented a challenge to utilizing new advertising channels like social media. With Saudi’s push towards modernization, the advertising landscape has experienced a significant change. Traditional out-of-home advertising spending witnessed an estimated 25 percent decline in 2024 compared to 2017. In contrast, digital out-of-home advertising spending has experienced a significant increase since 2017.

Social media advertising in the kingdom

  With new opportunities in the digital advertising market, social media advertising spending has steadily increased in recent years. (1451299). As a result of high internet penetration and mobile connectivity, – the kingdom has one of the largest TikTok audiences worldwide. With such large social media audiences, Saudi Arabia has launched the Mawthooq, or "verified" program for social media users, which aims to regulate the advertising and digital content sector in the country. Every Saudi and non-Saudi content creator in the kingdom who earns revenue through advertising on social media must first apply for an official permit. Saudis residing outside of the kingdom should also apply for a permit. While the program aims to put regulations in place, there has been criticism that it might be used for censorship and controlling online free speech.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Mar 28, 2024

Key insights

Total ad spending in Saudi Arabia by 2025
2.72bn USD
Creativity score of the advertising market in Saudi Arabia
186
Effectiveness score of the advertising market in Saudi Arabia
94
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