Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 9.6% year-on-year (YoY) for the first quarter of 2022, the country’s General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) reported on Sunday.
The growth was driven by a significant increase in oil activities by 20.4%. Non-oil activities also grew by 3.7%, and government services increased by 2.4%.
The kingdom is home to the world’s largest oil firm, Saudi Aramco, and therefore, one of the few countries that can increase its production capacity, influencing the country’s GDP further.
GASTAT also said that the figures showed that Saudi Arabia’s seasonally adjusted real GDP grew by 2.2% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year, SPA reported. The increase was a result of a growth in oil activities by 2.9%, and an increase in non-oil activities by 2.5%, while government services activities decreased by 0.9%.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil activities increased by 5.1% in Q4 2021
In April, research found that unemployment among Saudi nationals declined marginally to 11% in Q4 2021, compared to 11.3% in Q3 2021, and 12.6% at the end of 2020.
Meanwhile, the number of expat workers in Saudi Arabia‘s labour market continued to drop in 2021 with a net decline of approximately 66,000 recorded YoY.
As a result, the participation of Saudi nationals in the labour force rose to 51.5% by the end of 2021, up marginally from 51.2% in 2020, despite lower participation amongst males.
The kingdom’s real GDP grew by 6.7% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to Q4 2020 and 1.6% compared to Q3 2021. That growth was mainly attributed to the increase in oil activities (10.9% YoY). Furthermore, non-oil activities also increased 5.1%, while government activities expanded by 2.4%, according to the GDP and National Accounts report for the fourth quarter of 2021, released by GASTAT.
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