Saudi non-oil activities rise by 4.9%, driving real GDP growth of 3.4% in Q12025

According to estimates by the General Authority for Statistics, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.4% in Q1/2025 compared to the same quarter of 2024.

Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted real GDP rose by 1.1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Non-Oil activities recorded a Y-o-Y increase of4.9% and a Q-o-Q growth of 1.0%. Additionally, government activities grew by 3.2% Y-o-Y and 5.5% Q-o-Q. Conversely, oil activities decreased by 0.5% Y-o-Y and 1.2% Q-o-Q.

Contribution to growth rate of real GDP

The main driver of growth in real GDP was non-oil activities, which contributed 2.8 percentage points (PP). Government activities and net taxes on products also contributed positively, adding 0.5 and 0.2 PP, respectively. In contrast, oil activities had a negative impact on growth, subtracting by 0.1 PP. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the growth was mainly driven by government and non-oil activities, which contributed 0.8 and 0.6 PP, respectively, while oil activities detracted from growth by 0.3 PP.

Real GDP by economic activity

Most economic activities recorded positive growth rates on an annual basis.

Wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels activities achieved the highest growth rate in Q1/2025, increasing by 8.4% Y-o-Y and 0.7% Q-o-Q, followed by transport, storage and communication activities, up 6.0% Y-o-Y and 1.8% Q-o-Q.

Additionally, financial, insurance, and business services activities grew by 5.5% Y-oY, despite a slight decline of0.1% Q-o-Q.

Real GDP by expenditure component

Gross fixed capital formation increased by 8.5% Y-o-Y and 7.3% Q-o-Q.

Government final consumption expenditure grew by 5.2% Y-o-Y and 4.5% Q-o-Q.

Additionally, private final consumption expenditure rose by 4.5% Y-o-Y while declining by 1.7% Q-o-Q. As for the trade balance, imports increased by 2.7% Y-o-Y and decreased by 10.0% Q-o-Q. However, exports grew by 1.5% Y-o-Y and 12.3% Q-o-Q.