GDP reading: GDP rebounded 3.9% on a seasonally adjusted quarter on quarter basis in the third quarter, contrasting the 1.7%...
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
Note: This chart displays Economic Growth (GDP, annual variation in %) for Saudi Arabia from 2014 to 2023.
Source: Macrobond.
Saudi Arabia GDP Data
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) | 1.1 | -3.6 | 5.1 | 7.5 | -0.8 |
| GDP (USD bn) | 838 | 734 | 874 | 1,107 | 1,067 |
| GDP (SAR bn) | 3,145 | 2,754 | 3,278 | 4,157 | 4,003 |
| Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) | -0.9 | -12.4 | 19.1 | 26.8 | -3.7 |
| Economic Growth (GDP non-Oil, ann. var. %) | 3.2 | -2.1 | 6.5 | 5.1 | 2.4 |
| Economic Growth (GDP Oil, ann. var. %) | -3.3 | -6.9 | 0.6 | 15.2 | -9.1 |
Second reading confirms that economy recorded best result since Q1 2023 in Q3
GDP growth matches preliminary reading: GDP rebounded in Q3, expanding 2.8% year on year, matching the preliminary reading, above the 0.3% contraction logged in Q2 and marking the best result since Q1 2023. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, economic growth waned to 0.9% in Q3, down from the previous quarter's 1.4% expansion and marking the worst reading since Q4 2023.
Second reading gives expenditure breakdown: The second reading provided a breakdown of the GDP figures by expenditure, showing that the annual upturn reflected improvements in private consumption, fixed investment and exports. Household spending growth picked up to 3.9% in the third quarter, which marked the best reading since Q4 2023 (Q2: +2.8% yoy). Moreover, fixed investment growth improved to 4.5% in Q3, above the 3.2% expansion logged in the previous quarter. Exports of goods and services rebounded, growing 3.0% in the third quarter, which marked the best reading since Q1 2023 (Q2: -5.8% yoy). Less positively, government consumption growth was the slowest since Q2 2024, expanding 6.2% (Q2: +10.9% yoy). In addition, imports of goods and services rebounded, growing 7.3% in Q3 (Q2: -0.9% yoy), marking the strongest reading since Q3 2023.
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 29 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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