RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) jumped by 11.8 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the second quarter of 2022, the highest in 11 years, while compared to the same quarter of 2021. The highest rate reached earlier was in the third quarter of 2011 when it posted 13.6 percent, according to the data issued on Sunday by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

The economic growth was driven by a significant increase in oil activities by 23.1 percent YoY and 5.4 percent rise in non-oil activities. Meanwhile, government activities increased by 2.2 percent YoY.

The seasonally adjusted real GDP increased by 1.8 percent in the second quarter of 2022, compared to the first quarter of this year. The rise is due to the positive growth witnessed by oil activities by 4.8 percent, in addition to an increase in government services activities by 0.2 percent, while non-oil activities decreased by 0.4 percent.

Saudi Arabia’s real GDP grew by 9.9 percent in the first quarter of 2022 YoY. On a quarterly basis, seasonally adjusted GDP grew by 2.6 percent.

The authority attributed the economic growth, at the time, mainly to the significant rise in oil activities, which amounted to 20.3 percent YoY, and 2.9 percent on a quarterly basis, and the growth in non-oil activities reached 3.7 percent on an annual basis, and 0.9 percent on a quarterly basis.

Dr. Muhammad Makni, Professor of Finance and Investment at Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University, said that the figures issued by GASTAT about the growth of the Saudi economy in the second quarter of this year are positive and complement international reports.

Speaking to Al-Arabiya, he said that although growth was largely supported by oil activities, there is a great focus on non-oil activities, and there is an attempt to stimulate these activities as the growth rate indicates a rise in activity and production.

The real GDP growth rate is the highest in 11 years, he said while noting that the output is expected to continue improving during the second and third quarters. “We will see an increase in non-oil activities that support the Kingdom’s goal of penetrating the trillion dollars in GDP for the first time, noting that one of the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 is that the output will be at about SR6.4 trillion by 2030 so that the Kingdom’s economy becomes among the 15 largest economies in the world.

It is noteworthy that the International Monetary Fund, in its latest estimates, projected the growth of the Saudi economy by 7.6 percent this year and 3.7 percent during the year 2023.

 

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