Saudi Arabia said Sunday (September 30th) it expects to balance its budget by 2023, as oil prices rebound and the deficit-hit kingdom looks to diversify revenue, AFP reported.
"The deficit is expected to continue to decline gradually over the medium term... until it reaches the fiscal balance by 2023," said Saad Alshahrani, head of the finance ministry's fiscal policy department, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The kingdom -- the world's top crude exporter -- has posted budget deficits totaling more than $260 billion since the 2014 crash in oil prices.
The shortfall came in at a preliminary 9.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, down from 17.2% in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Alshahrani said the government would continue to close the budget gap through "structural reforms", including reassessing government spending and ensuring more Saudi citizens enter the employment market.
Saudi Arabia has pushed an aggressive campaign to diversify its income sources in recent years, hiking fees on expatriate workers and raising fuel and electricity prices.
It is also looking to replace foreigners with local hires, in a bid to contain welfare payments to citizens.
The Saudi economy took a turn for the better in the first half of 2018, as revenues jumped 67%, mainly due to a rise in oil prices.
But public spending rose 34% for the same period, according to official figures.
