Saudi Arabia’s GDP surges by 9.6% YoY in Q1 2022; GASTAT

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has revealed that Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 9.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2022, achieving the highest growth rate since 2011.

The growth was fueled by oil activities that increased by 20.4 percent in the first quarter of 2022. “Non-oil activities saw a rise of 3.7 percent, with government services activities growing by 2.4 percent YoY,” as per the report.

The figures showed that the seasonally adjusted real GDP in the Kingdom grew by 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year. This increase was due to the positive growth in oil activities by 2.9 percent, and an increase in non-oil activities by 2.5 percent, while government services activities decreased by 0.9 percent.

According to the Methodology of Flash Estimates of Quarterly GDP Definition, “A flash estimate of quarterly GDP is defined as a process of estimating the quarterly national accounts conducted during a short period after the end of the reference quarter and is published 30 days after the end of the reference quarter when the data relating to the quarter is still incomplete.”

Flash estimates are related to the quarterly GDP of the entire national economy and are presented without any details of economic sectors and activities. Flash estimates are used by decision-makers, academics, and researchers who seek to obtain a long-term future view of the GDP data for economic activities. In addition, international organizations use seasonally adjusted data to make economic comparisons between different countries,” according to the statement.

Established in 2015, GASTAT is the official and only statistical reference for statistical data and information in the Kingdom. It implements all statistical activities, technical supervision of the statistical sector, and so on.

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