Saudi Vision 2030: The Three Pillars and What the 2025 Progress Report Shows

Nearly a decade in, the Kingdom's transformation program moves into its third phase — here is what the numbers say.

A Decade of Delivery

Launched in 2016 under King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Vision 2030 is the most closely watched transformation program in the Gulf. Rather than a static document, it operates as a delivery system: Vision Realization Programs and National Strategies translate long-term ambitions into coordinated plans, with performance tracked against defined indicators at three levels — strategic objectives, program-level targets, and initiative-level implementation.

Saudi Arabia's own Vision 2030 Annual Report for 2025 confirms the Kingdom is entering the third phase of the program in 2026, with a growing share of indicators meeting, nearing, or exceeding target across all three pillars.

The Three Pillars

A Vibrant Society

Quality of life, grounded in values, culture, and national identity, with continued improvements in healthcare, education, and community participation. Selected 2025 indicators against target:

• Umrah pilgrims from outside the Kingdom: 18.03 million, against a 15 million target
• Saudi homeownership rate: 66.24%, against a 65% target
• Adult physical activity rate: 59.1%, against a 55% target
• Eight Saudi sites now listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List — already meeting the 2030 target ahead of schedule

A Thriving Economy

Diversification and competitiveness, expanding non-oil sectors, strengthening private-sector participation, and deepening integration with global markets.

• Employees in SMEs: 8.88 million, against a 7.55 million target
• Non-oil exports: $166 billion, up from a 2016 baseline of $64.6 billion
• IMD World Competitiveness ranking: 17th, against a 2025 target of 39th — a marked overshoot

An Ambitious Nation

Governance and institutional performance, strengthening public-sector effectiveness, transparency, and accountability.

• Nonprofit sector contribution to GDP: 0.2%, against a 1.4% target — one of the pillar's lagging indicators
• Volunteers: 17.5 million, up from a 2016 baseline of 22,900
• E-Participation ranking: 7th globally, against a 39th target

The Capital Deployment Engine

Vision 2030 is delivered across mining, industry, logistics, the financial sector, and the digital and knowledge economy, with the Public Investment Fund positioned as the central vehicle channeling capital into new industries and giga-projects. The 2025 report also tracks progress across housing, digital government, education, sports, tourism, entertainment, and culture — sectors where private capital is increasingly co-investing alongside state-backed vehicles.

Flagship Projects: What's Being Built and Where

PIF's official giga-project roster names five flagship vehicles — NEOM, Qiddiya, Red Sea Global, ROSHN Group, and Diriyah Company — with combined announced commitments across the wider giga-project portfolio now exceeding $1 trillion.

• NEOM — a ~26,500 sq km zone in Tabuk province, grouping The Line, Oxagon, Trojena, and Sindalah; Sindalah and Sports Boulevard's first phases are already open
• Red Sea Global and AMAALA — regenerative luxury tourism destinations along the Red Sea coast, with resort assets now operating
• Qiddiya — a ~$13 billion entertainment, sports, and culture megacity near Riyadh
• Diriyah Gate — heritage tourism centred on restoring historic districts on the edge of Riyadh linked to the Kingdom's founding
• ROSHN — the PIF's national housing platform, alongside New Murabba (a planned new downtown for Riyadh) and King Salman Park
• AlUla — an established archaeological and cultural tourism destination continuing phased expansion

PIF's own 2026–2030 strategy signals a shift toward value creation and investment efficiency across this portfolio, alongside continued build-out in mining, industry, logistics, the financial sector, and the digital economy.

What This Means for Family Offices and Private Capital

The scale of Saudi Arabia's non-oil export growth — from $64.6 billion to $166 billion since 2016 — and the jump in SME employment are the clearest evidence that diversification is translating into real private-sector activity rather than remaining a policy aspiration.

For family offices and private markets investors, the sectors flagged for continued build-out in the 2025 report — mining, logistics, the digital economy, tourism, entertainment, and culture — represent the areas where PIF-anchored capital is actively seeking co-investment partners.

The lagging indicators are equally instructive: the nonprofit sector's GDP contribution remains well below target, pointing to an underdeveloped philanthropic and social-enterprise financing layer that is likely to see targeted policy support as the Kingdom enters Vision 2030's third phase.

Key Takeaways

• Saudi Vision 2030 runs on three pillars: A Vibrant Society, A Thriving Economy, An Ambitious Nation
• The Kingdom's own 2025 Annual Report shows most indicators meeting or exceeding target as the program enters its third phase in 2026
• Non-oil exports have grown from $64.6 billion to $166 billion since the vision's 2016 launch
• Mining, logistics, the digital economy, and tourism/culture are the sectors most actively courting private co-investment alongside PIF