Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's GDP growth from 2013 to 2022 mirrored the global oil market's fluctuations and domestic economic reforms. Early in the decade, high oil prices facilitated growth, but the mid-2010s oil price crash led to a slowdown and fiscal deficits. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp contraction, but recovery was underway by 2022, driven by rising oil prices and successful economic diversification efforts.
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
Saudi Arabia GDP Data
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) | 3.2 | 1.1 | -3.6 | 5.1 | 7.5 |
GDP (USD bn) | 846 | 838 | 734 | 874 | 1,107 |
GDP (SAR bn) | 3,175 | 3,145 | 2,754 | 3,278 | 4,157 |
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) | 18.4 | -0.9 | -12.4 | 19.1 | 26.8 |
Economic Growth (GDP non-Oil, ann. var. %) | -1.2 | 3.2 | -2.1 | 6.5 | 5.1 |
Economic Growth (GDP Oil, ann. var. %) | 2.2 | -3.3 | -6.9 | 0.6 | 15.2 |
GDP shrinks again in Q4
According to a preliminary reading, GDP slid 3.7% year on year in the final quarter of 2023, above the 4.4% contraction seen in the third quarter. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, economic activity bounced back 0.4% in Q4, contrasting the previous period's 3.2% decrease.
The oil activities sector shrank 16.4% year on year in Q4 (Q3: 17.0%), driving the downturn in GDP. This was the result of Saudi Arabia’s voluntary and OPEC+-mandated supply cuts. In contrast, the non-oil activities and government services sectors saw growth of 4.3% and 3.1% respectively in Q4.
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 25 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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