Saudi GDP up 12.2 per cent in second quarter, exceeding initial estimate

Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product expanded by 12.2 per cent in the second quarter compared with the same period of 2021, data showed on Wednesday, as the world’s top oil exporter reaps the rewards of high crude prices and a post-pandemic recovery.

The second quarter growth figure exceeded a flash government estimate at the end of July of 11.8 per cent GDP growth. The economy grew 2.2 per cent in the first quarter. 

“The growth is mainly due to the high increase in oil activities by 22.9 per cent y-o-y,” the General Authority for Statistics said. The oil economy grew 4.4 per cent in the second quarter from the first quarter.

Non-oil activities rose by 8.2 per cent on an annual basis and 4.5 per cent in the first quarter. Government activities grew by 2.4 per cent in the year to end-June, a 0.4 per cent rise compared to the first quarter.