Saudi Arabia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by 0.9% YoY in 2023, due to a decline in oil activities by 9.2%, according to the General Authority of Statistics (GASTAT).

The decline in oil activities could be related to the kingdom's voluntary cut in oil production in line with OPEC+. However, non-oil activities rose by 4.6%, and government activities by 2.1%, the Ministry of Investment said in a report citing the GASTAT.

Most economic activities recorded YoY growth in Q3 2023.

The personal, social and community services achieved the highest growth of 11.8%, then wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels by 5.4%, and transportation, storage and communication by 5.1%, according to the GASTAT.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows increased by 6% in the first three quarters of 2023 compared to the same period of 2022.

The numbers released by the Ministry of Investment does not include the Aramco deal in Q1 2022.

The FDI stock, also grew by 1.4% by the end of Q3 2023 compared to the previous quarter, indicating a growing confidence of foreign investors in the Saudi investment ecosystem.

(Writing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com; editing by Brinda Darasha)