Underlying picture less positive than headline reading: GDP growth improved to 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted quarter on quarter basis...
Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's GDP growth over the last decade partly tracked OPEC decisions on oil output, given the importance of the oil sector to GDP. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp contraction, but recovery was underway by 2022, driven by the lifting of pandemic restrictions and successful economic diversification efforts boosting the non-oil economy. However, tough OPEC oil output cuts caused the economy to return to contraction in 2023 and to remain subdued in 2024, despite a buoyant non-oil sector.
The economy of Saudi Arabia recorded an average real GDP growth of 2.6% in the decade to 2022, above the 2.0% average for the Middle East & North Africa. In 2022, real GDP growth was 8.7%. For more GDP information, visit our dedicated page.
Saudi Arabia GDP Chart
Note: This chart displays Economic Growth (GDP, annual variation in %) for Saudi Arabia from 2014 to 2024.
Source: Macrobond.
Saudi Arabia GDP Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) | -3.8 | 6.5 | 12.0 | 0.5 | 1.8 |
| GDP (USD bn) | 767 | 982 | 1,237 | 1,218 | 1,237 |
| GDP (SAR bn) | 2,880 | 3,685 | 4,647 | 4,570 | 4,641 |
| Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) | -13.6 | 28.0 | 26.1 | -1.7 | 1.6 |
| Economic Growth (GDP non-Oil, ann. var. %) | -1.7 | 8.9 | 10.7 | 4.7 | 4.3 |
| Economic Growth (GDP Oil, ann. var. %) | -7.4 | 2.0 | 14.5 | -9.0 | -4.4 |
Economy records slowest increase since Q2 2024 in Q1
GDP reading: According to a preliminary estimate from the General Authority for Statistics, annual GDP growth slowed to 2.7% in the first quarter, down from 4.4% in the fourth quarter of last year and marking the softest growth since Q2 2024. The print came in below market expectations. Conversely, on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, economic growth improved to 0.9% in Q1, following the previous quarter's 0.8% increase and marking the fastest expansion in a year. The statistical office also revised past GDP data, citing a methodological change aimed at aligning more with international data quality standards.
Drivers: As has been the case since early 2023, annual GDP growth was driven by government activities and the non-oil private sector—despite the latter slowing from the prior quarter—which likely continued to be boosted by the government’s diversification agenda. In contrast, the oil sector shrank.
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Saudi Arabian GDP projections for the next ten years from a panel of 30 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable GDP forecast available for Saudi Arabian GDP.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Saudi Arabian GDP projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Saudi Arabian GDP forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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