Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation
How the sector's enterprises perform: revenue, operating expenses, employee compensation, operating surplus and where they sit geographically, from the official data.
Activities inside the sector · 2024
The 2024 financial figures (SAR billion) come from the structural business statistics survey published by GASTAT, covering enterprises of every size.Read more
Worked example: enterprises in «Water collection, treatment and supply» had operating revenue of SAR 24.6 billion, made up of SAR 16.3 billion of operating expenses and SAR 6.4 billion of employee compensation, leaving an operating surplus of SAR 1.9 billion, which is 8% of operating revenue.
What the terms mean: Operating revenue Total sales and income earned from the main activity. Operating expenses Operating costs, including rent and intermediate purchases. Employee compensation Wages, salaries and benefits in cash and in kind. Operating surplus What is left of operating income before depreciation, interest, zakat and tax, with its share of revenue below it. It is a measure of operating efficiency, not net profit.
Activities with operating revenue of SAR 100 million or more are listed. Source: GASTAT, structural business statistics bulletins for 2024 ↗.
| Economic activity | Operating revenuebillion riyals | Operating expensesbillion riyals | Employee compensationbillion riyals | Operating surplusbillion riyals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water collection, treatment and supply | 24.6 | 16.3 | 6.4 | 1.98% |
| Sewerage | 4.7 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 2.961% |
| Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.931% |
| Remediation activities and other waste management services | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.154% |
By enterprise size · 2024
| Size | Revenue (SAR billion) | Pay as a share of revenue | Surplus as a share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | 0.7 | 19% | 34% |
| Small | 1.5 | 25% | 36% |
| Medium | 2.8 | 20% | 37% |
| Large | 27.5 | 25% | 15% |
Large-enterprise data: operating revenue and operating surplus are taken from the published bulletins; expenses and employee compensation are derived by subtracting the micro, small and medium figures from the sector total. Source: GASTAT, SME statistics ↗; GASTAT, structural business survey ↗.
Workers and Saudi share · Q1 2026
Saudis as a share of the sector's workers
Workers currently insured at enterprises in this sector. Source: GASTAT, social insurance contributors by sector ↗.
Sector workers by region · Q1 2026
| Region | Workers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Riyadh | 50,509 | 53.1% |
| Eastern Province | 18,008 | 18.9% |
| Makkah | 17,665 | 18.6% |
| Al-Qassim | 1,844 | 1.9% |
| Aseer | 1,843 | 1.9% |
| Al-Madinah | 1,824 | 1.9% |
| Jazan | 1,052 | 1.1% |
| Hail | 653 | 0.7% |
| Najran | 642 | 0.7% |
| Al-Jouf | 334 | 0.4% |
| Tabuk | 318 | 0.3% |
| Northern Borders | 236 | 0.2% |
| Al-Baha | 137 | 0.1% |
Workforce figures are assigned administratively to the enterprise's registered head office. Source: GASTAT, workers by administrative region and economic activity ↗.
Revenue and surplus, year by year
| Year | Revenue (SAR billion) | Surplus as a share of revenue | SME share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 32.6 | 18% | 16% |
| 2023 | 30.9 | 19% | 16% |
| 2022 | 15.8 | 52% | 21% |
| 2021 | 15.2 | 50% | 21% |
| 2020 | 13.8 | 50% | 20% |
| 2019 | 14.7 | 52% | 21% |
Operating surplus: what is left after operating expenses and employee compensation are taken from total revenue, before depreciation, financing costs, zakat and tax. It is the operating return, and is not net profit. Source: GASTAT, structural business survey ↗.
Revenue month by month
The operating revenue index (2021 = 100). Bankruptcy filings over the last 12 months: 1. Source:: GASTAT, short-term business indicators ↗.
Foreign investment licences
| Year | New licences |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 130 |
| 2022 | 139 |
| 2021 | 34 |
| 2020 | 11 |
| 2019 | 12 |
| 2018 | 19 |
| 2017 | 5 |
Source: Ministry of Investment (Invest Saudi) ↗.
Cumulative foreign direct investment stock in the sector: 14.8 billion riyals at the end of 2024, with inflows during the year of 0.7 billion riyals. Source: GASTAT, foreign direct investment stock ↗.