Saudi Arabia’s $8.1 billion beauty market is forecast to grow 8.7% annually through 2030, almost double the global average. It’s already the Gulf’s largest, accounting for more than half of regional sales, according to Euromonitor data cited by Business of Fashion. The boom is being driven by Saudi women’s rising disposable income: Many of them prefer to spend on homegrown beauty businesses that are largely founded by other Saudi women, who rank second worldwide for startup participation.
Female participation in the workforce has grown rapidly since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s social reforms in 2016 — women currently constitute around 34% of the labor market, up from 20% when the changes were introduced, according to World Bank data. But the story isn’t all rosy: Over the past decade, there have been prominent arrests of women speaking out about gender equality in the kingdom.