Riyadh - Mubasher: The Ministry of Finance confirmed that social support is a fundamental pillar in the Kingdom’s budget, stressing the government’s efforts to enhance the social support and subsidies system to mitigate the impact of economic changes through programs and initiatives that contribute to improving the quality of life of citizens.

The Ministry of Finance revealed, according to the 2025 State General Budget Report, Citizen Budget Version, that the volume of social support in the Kingdom is expected to reach 181.1 billion riyals in 2024.

The Ministry of Finance explained that the most prominent aspects of social support include allocating 41.5 billion riyals to support the Citizen Account Program in 2024, and allocating 35.8 billion riyals to social security, noting that support for fixing the ceiling on the local price of gasoline is expected to reach 13.1 billion riyals in the current year.

It is noteworthy that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, directed on July 10, 2021, to fix the price ceiling for gasoline “locally.”

The Executive Committee for the Governance of Adjusting the Prices of Energy and Water Products announced the issuance of a directive from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to approve the prices of gasoline for the month of June 2021; gasoline (octane 91 / 2.18 riyals), and gasoline (octane 95 / 2.33 riyals); as the ceiling for the domestic price of gasoline, effective from July 10, 2021, provided that the state bears what may exceed the prices for the month of June upon the periodic monthly review of prices.

The ministry indicated that other forms of social support include allocating 23.5 billion riyals for medicine and medical supplies (including expenses on medicines, gases, solutions, medical supplies and other medical expenses), 18.2 billion riyals allocated to support basic service facilities (support provided to some public service companies), in addition to 13.4 billion riyals for student bonuses inside the country, and 5.3 billion riyals to support housing (including financial support for those eligible for housing support, real estate financing guarantees, and support for partnerships and investments with the private sector to stimulate the development of housing products).

The Ministry of Finance noted that an amount of 10.4 billion riyals was allocated by the state on behalf of citizens within the real estate transaction tax to one million riyals from the purchase price of the first home and the value-added tax due on private educational and health services, in addition to allocating 10.9 billion riyals for agricultural and food project subsidies, 5.3 billion riyals in support of people with special needs, and 3.6 billion riyals for the scholarship program abroad.