On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s official data for the first quarter showcased a 9.9% growth in the Gross Domestic Product. The data is said to be the fastest in a decade, beating last month’s flash estimate of 9.6%. Gross domestic product growth on a seasonally-adjusted basis was 2.6%, while oil activity was up 2.9%.
According to the chief economist, Monica Malik at the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, this was the fastest increase since the third quarter of 2011. It was majorly due to oil production. Malik said that the nation is in a very strong position due to its limited oil capacity and high oil prices.
The increase showed a high percentage of oil activity of 20.3%. In the first quarter of 2022, GDP per capita amounted to 26,961 riyals ($7,187), up 33.8% from the same quarter last year.
Natural gas and crude petroleum majorly contributed to the GDP by 32.4%, oil by 3.7%, and government activities increased by 2.4% yearly. However, there was a fall in government activity of 0.9% in the fourth quarter.
The General Authority for Statistics said, “All economic activity recorded positive annual growth rates in the first quarter of 2022”.
