RIYADH: According to government figures, a growth in non-oil activity drove a 2.8 percent increase in Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product in the third quarter of this year compared to the same time in 2023. In line with Vision 2030’s objectives to diversify the economy beyond oil earnings, the Kingdom’s non-oil sector grew by 4.2 percent year over year in the third quarter, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
Government operations increased by 3.1 percent year over year, according to GASTAT data, while oil activity increased by a moderate 0.3 percent. In comparison to the second quarter, Saudi Arabia’s seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product increased by 0.8 percent in the third quarter. When breaking down quarterly numbers, oil activities experienced a 1.5 percent growth, while non-oil activity climbed by 0.5 percent. But from quarter to quarter, government activity fell by 0.3 percent.
The Kingdom’s economic resiliency was confirmed earlier this month when the International Monetary Fund predicted that Saudi Arabia’s economy would expand by 1.5% in 2024 and 4.6% in 2025. Similar confidence was expressed by the World Bank, which predicted growth of 1.6% this year and 4.9 percent in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s own pre-budget prognosis, which predicted GDP growth of 0.8 percent in 2024, supported by a 3.7 percent increase in non-oil activity, is surpassed by these IMF and World Bank projections.
In its September assessment, credit rating agency S&P Global also emphasised Saudi Arabia’s economic resiliency, predicting GDP growth of 1.4 percent in 2024 and 5.3 percent in 2025 due to the Kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy and lessen its dependency on oil earnings.
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