Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product grew by 3.8 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2023, primarily driven by expansion in non-oil activities, according to a report released by the General Authority for Statistics.
The GASTAT report noted that the Kingdom’s non-oil activities expanded by 5.4 percent in the first three months of 2023 compared to the same period a year ago. The growth of non-oil activities was 1 percent when compared with the last quarter of 2022.
Strengthening the non-oil private sector is the key part of the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts under the goals outlined in Vision 2030.
According to the GASTAT report, the Kingdom’s real GDP decreased by 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the last quarter of the previous year.
The report noted that oil activities rose by 1.4 percent year on year, but it dropped by 4.7 percent quarter on quarter.
The government services activities also soared by 4.9 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago.
The GASTAT report said that most economic activities in the Kingdom recorded positive growth on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2023.—AN
