Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The real gross domestic product (GDP) in Saudi Arabia recorded a growth of 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. This was revealed in the rapid estimates conducted by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

The report, released on Thursday, attributed this growth mainly to a 4.2 percent increase in non-oil activities, and growth of government activities by 3.2 percent though oil activities recorded a decline of 1.4 percent on a year-on-year basis.

Seasonally adjusted real GDP recorded a growth of 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the fourth quarter of the year 2024. This growth was driven by a 4.9 percent increase in government activities, in addition to a 1.0 percent growth in non-oil activities, while oil activities declined by 1.2 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

The authority announced the implementation of a comprehensive update of Saudi Arabia's GDP, in line with the Kingdom's efforts to enhance economic transparency, improve the quality and reliability of statistical data, and measure the national economic indicators identified by the Kingdom, which will contribute to achieving development goals in line with the best international standards.

The GASTAT explained that the updated results showed a 14.1 percent increase in GDP estimates for 2023, an increase of SR566 billion compared to the previously published estimates for the same year. This brings the total GDP after the update to SR4.5 trillion.

The comprehensive update results revealed a higher relative contribution of the non-oil economy, reaching 53.2 percent, a 5.7 percent increase over previous results, influenced by the increase in the volume of economic activities of small and medium enterprises compared to previous estimates.

The update also revealed an increase in the volume of several economic activities, with construction activities increasing by 61 percent, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels by 29.8 percent, and transportation, storage, and communications activities by 25.6 percent, along with increases in the volume of several other economic activities.

This update is part of the authority's ongoing efforts to provide more comprehensive, up-to-date, accurate, and high-quality statistical data to serve decision-makers, policymakers, investors, researchers, and stakeholders at the local, regional, and international levels.

Over the past period, the authority has made several improvements to national accounts statistics, most notably the application of the Moving Chain Methodology, which is used globally to estimate real GDP growth rates based on the weights and prices of the year prior to the year of measurement, in line with the recommendations of the Manual of the National Accounts Law.